Vertical farming limitations and potential demonstrated by back-of-the-envelope calculations.

IF 6.5 1区 生物学 Q1 PLANT SCIENCES
Samuel J Lovat, Εlad Noor, Ron Milo
{"title":"Vertical farming limitations and potential demonstrated by back-of-the-envelope calculations.","authors":"Samuel J Lovat, Εlad Noor, Ron Milo","doi":"10.1093/plphys/kiaf056","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Improving food security and reducing the environmental footprint of food production is urgently needed to satisfy the growing global population in a time of climate, biodiversity and water pressures. Indoor vertical farming is largely independent of environmental conditions and is reported to reduce the land and water required for food production. However, vertical farming requires large amounts of energy. Based on the vertical farming energy cost, we derive from basic considerations a current minimum cost of ≈$10/kg dry plant matter. Vertical farming is therefore not currently competitive with dried cereals or pulses (e.g. wheat, rice and soybeans). We also show limited current competitiveness for products like tomatoes and lettuce, despite a low dry matter content. Whereas the environmental implications of vertical farming depend on the electricity source. Using the average newly installed electricity mix in recent years (predominantly solar and wind, with some coal, natural gas and bioenergy), vertical farming could substantially increase greenhouse gas emissions and has limited land benefits compared to conventional agriculture. Using exclusively electricity from photovoltaics, some environmental benefits could be achieved for crops with a low dry matter content like lettuce, but this is more limited for dried crops like wheat. The transparent calculations we provide here set out challenges for vertical farming and highlight that improvements in both the overall vertical farming energetic efficiency (≈1-2%), as well as low-impact electricity sources are needed in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":20101,"journal":{"name":"Plant Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Plant Physiology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf056","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PLANT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Improving food security and reducing the environmental footprint of food production is urgently needed to satisfy the growing global population in a time of climate, biodiversity and water pressures. Indoor vertical farming is largely independent of environmental conditions and is reported to reduce the land and water required for food production. However, vertical farming requires large amounts of energy. Based on the vertical farming energy cost, we derive from basic considerations a current minimum cost of ≈$10/kg dry plant matter. Vertical farming is therefore not currently competitive with dried cereals or pulses (e.g. wheat, rice and soybeans). We also show limited current competitiveness for products like tomatoes and lettuce, despite a low dry matter content. Whereas the environmental implications of vertical farming depend on the electricity source. Using the average newly installed electricity mix in recent years (predominantly solar and wind, with some coal, natural gas and bioenergy), vertical farming could substantially increase greenhouse gas emissions and has limited land benefits compared to conventional agriculture. Using exclusively electricity from photovoltaics, some environmental benefits could be achieved for crops with a low dry matter content like lettuce, but this is more limited for dried crops like wheat. The transparent calculations we provide here set out challenges for vertical farming and highlight that improvements in both the overall vertical farming energetic efficiency (≈1-2%), as well as low-impact electricity sources are needed in the future.

垂直农业的局限性和潜力由粗略的计算证明。
在气候、生物多样性和水资源面临压力的时代,迫切需要改善粮食安全和减少粮食生产的环境足迹,以满足不断增长的全球人口。室内垂直农业在很大程度上不受环境条件的影响,据报道可以减少粮食生产所需的土地和水。然而,垂直农业需要大量的能源。基于垂直农业的能源成本,我们从基本考虑中得出当前的最低成本为≈10美元/公斤干植物物质。因此,垂直农业目前无法与干谷物或豆类(如小麦、大米和大豆)竞争。我们还显示,尽管干物质含量低,但番茄和生菜等产品目前的竞争力有限。然而,垂直农业对环境的影响取决于电力来源。利用近年来平均新安装的电力组合(主要是太阳能和风能,还有一些煤炭、天然气和生物能源),垂直农业可能会大大增加温室气体排放,与传统农业相比,土地效益有限。完全使用光伏发电,可以为生菜等干物质含量低的作物带来一些环境效益,但这对小麦等干作物来说更有限。我们在这里提供的透明计算列出了垂直农业面临的挑战,并强调了未来需要提高整体垂直农业的能源效率(≈1-2%)以及低影响的电力来源。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Plant Physiology
Plant Physiology 生物-植物科学
CiteScore
12.20
自引率
5.40%
发文量
535
审稿时长
2.3 months
期刊介绍: Plant Physiology® is a distinguished and highly respected journal with a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1926. It stands as a leading international publication in the field of plant biology, covering a comprehensive range of topics from the molecular and structural aspects of plant life to systems biology and ecophysiology. Recognized as the most highly cited journal in plant sciences, Plant Physiology® is a testament to its commitment to excellence and the dissemination of groundbreaking research. As the official publication of the American Society of Plant Biologists, Plant Physiology® upholds rigorous peer-review standards, ensuring that the scientific community receives the highest quality research. The journal releases 12 issues annually, providing a steady stream of new findings and insights to its readership.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信