C. Bibbiani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by C. Bibbiani

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainable Greenhouse Horticulture in Europe

The European greenhouse horticulture represents one of the most intensive energy sector in agricu... more The European greenhouse horticulture represents one of the most intensive energy sector in agriculture and strongly contributes to increase the energy and environmental vulnerability within regions having a large greenhouse farming systems. Specifically, the European greenhouse farming sector is facing a trend that responds to the changing consumer's demands in a society that, globally, is increasingly affluent but more aware about some negative consequences, such as high energy-demand processes, and CO 2 emissions. About 200,000 hectares of greenhouses in Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and Greece is the estimated covered surface, with not less than 3.4 MTOE of energy consumption and 9.2 MtCO2eq, and an yearly economy value of 7 billions of Euros. The installed energy power load of greenhouses in Europe depends on local climate conditions, and varies from 50-150 W/m 2 (Southern regions of Europe) to 200-280 W/m 2 (Northern and Central regions), while complete conditioning could e...

Research paper thumbnail of Multi-Criteria DEXi Analysis for the Selection of Crop Species for Saltwater Aquaponics

Horticulturae

Saltwater aquaponics is a sustainable alternative system for food production. The success of this... more Saltwater aquaponics is a sustainable alternative system for food production. The success of this system largely depends on the selection of both fish and plant species, for which several features and criteria must be considered. This paper aims to identify the most suitable plant species for saltwater aquaponics by using a multi-criteria decision-making method also based on current literature. One simple model that contained one root criterion, four aggregated criteria, and four sub-criteria was created using DEXi software. The same model was evaluated considering two different salinity levels in the recirculating water: 10 (brackish water) and 35 (sea water) g L−1. The relevance of the model structure was evaluated by the sensitivity analysis, through the ‘plus/minus-1′ analysis. Our results suggest that Salicornia europaea L. and Portulaca oleracea L. were suitable species for saltwater aquaponics at 35 g L−1. Moreover, at 10 g L−1, the suitable candidates were: Salicornia bigelo...

Research paper thumbnail of Fishmeal Replacement with Hermetia illucens Meal in Aquafeeds: Effects on Zebrafish Growth Performances, Intestinal Morphometry, and Enzymology

Fishes

Fishmeal (FM) is still the most important protein source in aquafeeds. However, due to the reduct... more Fishmeal (FM) is still the most important protein source in aquafeeds. However, due to the reduction of wild fish stocks used for FM production, its manufacturing it is now unsustainable. Insect meal represents a valid alternative to FM, due to the low carbon footprint of its production and its high nutritional value. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentials of replacing FM with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal (HIM) in aquafeeds, using zebrafish as the animal model. Four diets were formulated with increasing HIM/FM replacement rate (the control diet contained 20% FM). Mortality rates, growth performances, and feed consumptions were measured, and fish intestine samples were collected for histological and enzymatic analysis. After 49 days, all groups almost tripled their initial body weight (cumulative body weight gain ranged between 143.9 and 155.2 mg), and no statistically significant differences among treatments were observed in relation to growth performa...

Research paper thumbnail of GReen roofs and fa\ue7ades agriculture (GRF) for supporting building energy efficiency

Research paper thumbnail of Renewable energy sources in agriculture; Energia rinnovabile in agricoltura

Research paper thumbnail of From freshwater to marine aquaponic: new opportunities for marine fish species production

Due to the increasing world population, by 2050 food production should be increased of about 70% ... more Due to the increasing world population, by 2050 food production should be increased of about 70% to 100%. Tanks to the lowest “carbon footprint”, aquaculture seems to be the most sustainable system for producing food (protein) of animal origin. Despite that, progress can be done for further improving aquaculture sustainability through the “aquaponic” system (IAS). A IAS is based on the bacteria nitrogen cycle which convert fish waste (faeces and uneaten feed) into nitrite and nitrate, this latter absorbed by plants grown in the hydroponic section of the aquaponic system; as a results, water is “depurated” and recycled into the fish tanks. Advantages of this system are the high productivity, the reduced water requirement, the neglectable waste production, the reduced plant disease incidence and pesticides utilization, the modularity of the system which allow its uses for a wide range of purposes (urban agriculture, people resilience in developing countries, marginal land exploitation...

Research paper thumbnail of Life cycle impact of industrial aquaculture systems: A review

The capture fishery production has overexploited the wild-fish stocks and global demand for aquat... more The capture fishery production has overexploited the wild-fish stocks and global demand for aquatic products is still increasing. Industrial aquaculture systems, such as marine net-pen, have a life cycle (LC) impact most of which is due to the energy needed to produce feed, and to the marine biotic resource overexploitation. To this regard, it should be worth calculating the primary production required (PPR) indicator to account for the impact of these production systems. Following the PPR approach, a three times higher value could be estimated respect to the life cycle assessment (LCA) method that underestimates the marine biotic impacts of fishery products. LCA is often referred to as "cradle to grave" analysis. On the contrary, the system boundaries of LCA of aquaculture systems studies are 'from cradle to farm-gate', thus avoiding the analysis of the subsequent processing, wholesaling, retailing, preparation and disposal of the fish. Anyhow, among the aquaculture systems, conventional marine net-pen has the lowest impact, while typical land-based freshwater recirculating system has a much higher impact, due to a large use of materials and energy, at least an order of magnitude higher than those of the net-pen. Nonetheless, the life cycle environmental impacts of a land-based freshwater recirculating system are very sensitive to the primary energy mix used to generate electricity.

Research paper thumbnail of Environmental Impact of Green Roofing: The Contribute of a Green Roof to the Sustainable use of Natural Resources in a Life Cycle Approach

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Wood Biomass as Sustainable Energy for Greenhouses Heating in Italy

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Green Control of Microclimate in Buildings

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Scheduling Irrigation in Heterogeneous Container Nursery Crops

Acta Horticulturae, 2014

One of the major production areas in Europe for Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stocks (HONS) is located... more One of the major production areas in Europe for Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stocks (HONS) is located around Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy). In this area, pot ornamental crops show low water use efficiency (WUE). Main reasons of poor irrigation efficiency are both the inaccurate irrigation scheduling, which is normally based on grower’s personal experience, and the choice to group different plant species together in the same irrigation plot in order to simplify irrigation and to reduce growing costs. An efficiency-oriented approach for the management of HONS requires the use of soil/substrate moisture sensors (SMS) and/or crop evapotranspiration (ET) model to regulate irrigation frequency. In order to compare different methods for irrigation scheduling in container beds hosting four different HONS species, two experiments were carried out in the spring-summer season of 2009 and 2010 at ‘Centro Speri-mentale per il Vivaismo’ (CESPEVI), Pistoia. In particular, we tested two irrigation control methods based on SMS or ET model as compared to conventional timer scheduling. The WET sensor was used for SMS control while the ET model consisted of a composite regression model of crop ET (as function of plant height and potential evapotranspiration) along with a specific algorithm implemented in the software of an irrigation controller prototype. Scheduling irrigation by means of the WET sensor (irrigation was activated when the matric potential of substrate was less than -5.0 kPa) or applying ET model reduced seasonal water use respectively by 40% and 45%, and water runoff by 74% and 81% in comparison with timer control strategy, without significant effects on plant ET, growth, and commercial value at the end of growing season. Both new irrigation scheduling are useful for growers, but for a large use of RZS method, a low cost RZS sensor is required. The use ET-model is less expensive, but it requires the knowledge of the Kc for the hundred of different species grown in the nurseries.

Research paper thumbnail of Accrescimento Delle Piante Con Luce Led

opac.bologna.enea.it

... CA CAMPIOTTI, G. ALONZO, A. BERNARDINI, C. BIBBIANI, M. CARLINO, F. DI CARLO, F. DONDI, M. SC... more ... CA CAMPIOTTI, G. ALONZO, A. BERNARDINI, C. BIBBIANI, M. CARLINO, F. DI CARLO, F. DONDI, M. SCOCCIANTI ... UV-A, tra cui il criptocromo, che assorbono radiazioni inferiori a 500nm; Fotorecettori UV-B, in grado di assorbire nell' ultravioletto con un picco oscillante intorno ...

Research paper thumbnail of Substrate water status and evapotranspiration irrigation scheduling in heterogenous container nursery crops

Agricultural Water Management, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Automated growth chamber prototype (box nursery) for growing plantlets to cultivate in the Italian basis Baia Terra Nova, in Antarctica

Research paper thumbnail of Hydro-retention polyacrylamide gels amendment to potting media increase water availability

Research paper thumbnail of An iterative procedure to estimate hydraulic characteristics of plant substrates from one-step outflow data

An improvement to the iterative method for the simultaneous determination of soil hydraulic prope... more An improvement to the iterative method for the simultaneous determination of soil hydraulic properties from One-Step data proposed by Valiantzas and Kerkides (1990) was developed. Inserting in the optimization algorithm one more parameter, residual water content 'θr', completed the revised equation. Soil hydraulic properties were characterized by the Brooks and Corey equation for water retention, and by the Kozeny power equation for hydraulic conductivity. The iterative procedure was tested using a particular class of soilless substrates generally used in container cultivation represented by three different mixes comprised of peat and pumice. The One-Step method was optimized and then tested on five replications of each mix. Analyzing the mean cumulative outflow curve recorded versus time, an estimation of hydraulic functions was derived. Estimated water retention was compared with nine experimental data and with the estimation by the Van Genuchten model. Keeping the same sa...

Research paper thumbnail of Pasture and soil transmitted parasitic infections of grazing cattle in an organic farm in Tuscany (Italy). determination of climatic, enviromental, farm management and individual animal risk factors using geographical information systems

Research paper thumbnail of Renewable energy for greenhouse agriculture

The greenhouse acclimatization is considered an important issue in sector of protected cultivatio... more The greenhouse acclimatization is considered an important issue in sector of protected cultivation, because it enables the grower to achieve high plant production and better quality of products, independently of outside weather conditions. In the last decade, however, important changing happened to the agri-food markets of almost all European countries, i.e.: the rising of retail market channels for year-round fresh fruit and vegetable, the liberalization of the European market, and the increase of consumers demand for high-quality fruits and vegetables. These trends, however, have created the escalating of energy consumption in greenhouse agriculture in order to maintain the most important plant growth factors, as temperature, light, humidity, ventilation, etc., at optimum levels. As a result, interest in renewable energy has become more intense for greenhouse operators for reducing their energy costs. In fact, despite the large presence of renewable energy sources in several Europ...

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of Greenwalls Efficiency for Building Energy Saving

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

The research moves from thermo-hygrometric data collected during a campaign to monitor energy exc... more The research moves from thermo-hygrometric data collected during a campaign to monitor energy exchanges at “Building F92” ENEA ‘La Casaccia’, with particular reference to the sections of the building facing south-east, south-west, screened by a green wall. In spring 2018, ENEA installed many sensors to detect parameters such as air temperature, internal and external surface temperature of walls, solar irradiation, wind speed, on the one hand, to validate the reliability of the parameters that can be extrapolated from the critical analysis of data, on the other to derive indications for a possible schematization of the contribution offered by the green-wall to the improvement of the conditions of indoor comfort. The research focused on the interpretation of the values measured by the sensors for the validation of simplified calculation models available in bibliography. The analysis allowed the extrapolation of data useful for the calculation of the Kv-parameter, the so-called “green factor”, an index describing the contribution to indoor cooling offered by the green-wall. The evaluation of the Kv-parameter demonstrates the substantial contribution of the green-wall to the reduction of the energy flux entering the opaque wall.

Research paper thumbnail of Preliminary study on eel breeding and vegetables production in an aquaponic system

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainable Greenhouse Horticulture in Europe

The European greenhouse horticulture represents one of the most intensive energy sector in agricu... more The European greenhouse horticulture represents one of the most intensive energy sector in agriculture and strongly contributes to increase the energy and environmental vulnerability within regions having a large greenhouse farming systems. Specifically, the European greenhouse farming sector is facing a trend that responds to the changing consumer's demands in a society that, globally, is increasingly affluent but more aware about some negative consequences, such as high energy-demand processes, and CO 2 emissions. About 200,000 hectares of greenhouses in Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and Greece is the estimated covered surface, with not less than 3.4 MTOE of energy consumption and 9.2 MtCO2eq, and an yearly economy value of 7 billions of Euros. The installed energy power load of greenhouses in Europe depends on local climate conditions, and varies from 50-150 W/m 2 (Southern regions of Europe) to 200-280 W/m 2 (Northern and Central regions), while complete conditioning could e...

Research paper thumbnail of Multi-Criteria DEXi Analysis for the Selection of Crop Species for Saltwater Aquaponics

Horticulturae

Saltwater aquaponics is a sustainable alternative system for food production. The success of this... more Saltwater aquaponics is a sustainable alternative system for food production. The success of this system largely depends on the selection of both fish and plant species, for which several features and criteria must be considered. This paper aims to identify the most suitable plant species for saltwater aquaponics by using a multi-criteria decision-making method also based on current literature. One simple model that contained one root criterion, four aggregated criteria, and four sub-criteria was created using DEXi software. The same model was evaluated considering two different salinity levels in the recirculating water: 10 (brackish water) and 35 (sea water) g L−1. The relevance of the model structure was evaluated by the sensitivity analysis, through the ‘plus/minus-1′ analysis. Our results suggest that Salicornia europaea L. and Portulaca oleracea L. were suitable species for saltwater aquaponics at 35 g L−1. Moreover, at 10 g L−1, the suitable candidates were: Salicornia bigelo...

Research paper thumbnail of Fishmeal Replacement with Hermetia illucens Meal in Aquafeeds: Effects on Zebrafish Growth Performances, Intestinal Morphometry, and Enzymology

Fishes

Fishmeal (FM) is still the most important protein source in aquafeeds. However, due to the reduct... more Fishmeal (FM) is still the most important protein source in aquafeeds. However, due to the reduction of wild fish stocks used for FM production, its manufacturing it is now unsustainable. Insect meal represents a valid alternative to FM, due to the low carbon footprint of its production and its high nutritional value. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentials of replacing FM with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal (HIM) in aquafeeds, using zebrafish as the animal model. Four diets were formulated with increasing HIM/FM replacement rate (the control diet contained 20% FM). Mortality rates, growth performances, and feed consumptions were measured, and fish intestine samples were collected for histological and enzymatic analysis. After 49 days, all groups almost tripled their initial body weight (cumulative body weight gain ranged between 143.9 and 155.2 mg), and no statistically significant differences among treatments were observed in relation to growth performa...

Research paper thumbnail of GReen roofs and fa\ue7ades agriculture (GRF) for supporting building energy efficiency

Research paper thumbnail of Renewable energy sources in agriculture; Energia rinnovabile in agricoltura

Research paper thumbnail of From freshwater to marine aquaponic: new opportunities for marine fish species production

Due to the increasing world population, by 2050 food production should be increased of about 70% ... more Due to the increasing world population, by 2050 food production should be increased of about 70% to 100%. Tanks to the lowest “carbon footprint”, aquaculture seems to be the most sustainable system for producing food (protein) of animal origin. Despite that, progress can be done for further improving aquaculture sustainability through the “aquaponic” system (IAS). A IAS is based on the bacteria nitrogen cycle which convert fish waste (faeces and uneaten feed) into nitrite and nitrate, this latter absorbed by plants grown in the hydroponic section of the aquaponic system; as a results, water is “depurated” and recycled into the fish tanks. Advantages of this system are the high productivity, the reduced water requirement, the neglectable waste production, the reduced plant disease incidence and pesticides utilization, the modularity of the system which allow its uses for a wide range of purposes (urban agriculture, people resilience in developing countries, marginal land exploitation...

Research paper thumbnail of Life cycle impact of industrial aquaculture systems: A review

The capture fishery production has overexploited the wild-fish stocks and global demand for aquat... more The capture fishery production has overexploited the wild-fish stocks and global demand for aquatic products is still increasing. Industrial aquaculture systems, such as marine net-pen, have a life cycle (LC) impact most of which is due to the energy needed to produce feed, and to the marine biotic resource overexploitation. To this regard, it should be worth calculating the primary production required (PPR) indicator to account for the impact of these production systems. Following the PPR approach, a three times higher value could be estimated respect to the life cycle assessment (LCA) method that underestimates the marine biotic impacts of fishery products. LCA is often referred to as "cradle to grave" analysis. On the contrary, the system boundaries of LCA of aquaculture systems studies are 'from cradle to farm-gate', thus avoiding the analysis of the subsequent processing, wholesaling, retailing, preparation and disposal of the fish. Anyhow, among the aquaculture systems, conventional marine net-pen has the lowest impact, while typical land-based freshwater recirculating system has a much higher impact, due to a large use of materials and energy, at least an order of magnitude higher than those of the net-pen. Nonetheless, the life cycle environmental impacts of a land-based freshwater recirculating system are very sensitive to the primary energy mix used to generate electricity.

Research paper thumbnail of Environmental Impact of Green Roofing: The Contribute of a Green Roof to the Sustainable use of Natural Resources in a Life Cycle Approach

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Wood Biomass as Sustainable Energy for Greenhouses Heating in Italy

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Green Control of Microclimate in Buildings

Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Scheduling Irrigation in Heterogeneous Container Nursery Crops

Acta Horticulturae, 2014

One of the major production areas in Europe for Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stocks (HONS) is located... more One of the major production areas in Europe for Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stocks (HONS) is located around Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy). In this area, pot ornamental crops show low water use efficiency (WUE). Main reasons of poor irrigation efficiency are both the inaccurate irrigation scheduling, which is normally based on grower’s personal experience, and the choice to group different plant species together in the same irrigation plot in order to simplify irrigation and to reduce growing costs. An efficiency-oriented approach for the management of HONS requires the use of soil/substrate moisture sensors (SMS) and/or crop evapotranspiration (ET) model to regulate irrigation frequency. In order to compare different methods for irrigation scheduling in container beds hosting four different HONS species, two experiments were carried out in the spring-summer season of 2009 and 2010 at ‘Centro Speri-mentale per il Vivaismo’ (CESPEVI), Pistoia. In particular, we tested two irrigation control methods based on SMS or ET model as compared to conventional timer scheduling. The WET sensor was used for SMS control while the ET model consisted of a composite regression model of crop ET (as function of plant height and potential evapotranspiration) along with a specific algorithm implemented in the software of an irrigation controller prototype. Scheduling irrigation by means of the WET sensor (irrigation was activated when the matric potential of substrate was less than -5.0 kPa) or applying ET model reduced seasonal water use respectively by 40% and 45%, and water runoff by 74% and 81% in comparison with timer control strategy, without significant effects on plant ET, growth, and commercial value at the end of growing season. Both new irrigation scheduling are useful for growers, but for a large use of RZS method, a low cost RZS sensor is required. The use ET-model is less expensive, but it requires the knowledge of the Kc for the hundred of different species grown in the nurseries.

Research paper thumbnail of Accrescimento Delle Piante Con Luce Led

opac.bologna.enea.it

... CA CAMPIOTTI, G. ALONZO, A. BERNARDINI, C. BIBBIANI, M. CARLINO, F. DI CARLO, F. DONDI, M. SC... more ... CA CAMPIOTTI, G. ALONZO, A. BERNARDINI, C. BIBBIANI, M. CARLINO, F. DI CARLO, F. DONDI, M. SCOCCIANTI ... UV-A, tra cui il criptocromo, che assorbono radiazioni inferiori a 500nm; Fotorecettori UV-B, in grado di assorbire nell' ultravioletto con un picco oscillante intorno ...

Research paper thumbnail of Substrate water status and evapotranspiration irrigation scheduling in heterogenous container nursery crops

Agricultural Water Management, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Automated growth chamber prototype (box nursery) for growing plantlets to cultivate in the Italian basis Baia Terra Nova, in Antarctica

Research paper thumbnail of Hydro-retention polyacrylamide gels amendment to potting media increase water availability

Research paper thumbnail of An iterative procedure to estimate hydraulic characteristics of plant substrates from one-step outflow data

An improvement to the iterative method for the simultaneous determination of soil hydraulic prope... more An improvement to the iterative method for the simultaneous determination of soil hydraulic properties from One-Step data proposed by Valiantzas and Kerkides (1990) was developed. Inserting in the optimization algorithm one more parameter, residual water content 'θr', completed the revised equation. Soil hydraulic properties were characterized by the Brooks and Corey equation for water retention, and by the Kozeny power equation for hydraulic conductivity. The iterative procedure was tested using a particular class of soilless substrates generally used in container cultivation represented by three different mixes comprised of peat and pumice. The One-Step method was optimized and then tested on five replications of each mix. Analyzing the mean cumulative outflow curve recorded versus time, an estimation of hydraulic functions was derived. Estimated water retention was compared with nine experimental data and with the estimation by the Van Genuchten model. Keeping the same sa...

Research paper thumbnail of Pasture and soil transmitted parasitic infections of grazing cattle in an organic farm in Tuscany (Italy). determination of climatic, enviromental, farm management and individual animal risk factors using geographical information systems

Research paper thumbnail of Renewable energy for greenhouse agriculture

The greenhouse acclimatization is considered an important issue in sector of protected cultivatio... more The greenhouse acclimatization is considered an important issue in sector of protected cultivation, because it enables the grower to achieve high plant production and better quality of products, independently of outside weather conditions. In the last decade, however, important changing happened to the agri-food markets of almost all European countries, i.e.: the rising of retail market channels for year-round fresh fruit and vegetable, the liberalization of the European market, and the increase of consumers demand for high-quality fruits and vegetables. These trends, however, have created the escalating of energy consumption in greenhouse agriculture in order to maintain the most important plant growth factors, as temperature, light, humidity, ventilation, etc., at optimum levels. As a result, interest in renewable energy has become more intense for greenhouse operators for reducing their energy costs. In fact, despite the large presence of renewable energy sources in several Europ...

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of Greenwalls Efficiency for Building Energy Saving

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

The research moves from thermo-hygrometric data collected during a campaign to monitor energy exc... more The research moves from thermo-hygrometric data collected during a campaign to monitor energy exchanges at “Building F92” ENEA ‘La Casaccia’, with particular reference to the sections of the building facing south-east, south-west, screened by a green wall. In spring 2018, ENEA installed many sensors to detect parameters such as air temperature, internal and external surface temperature of walls, solar irradiation, wind speed, on the one hand, to validate the reliability of the parameters that can be extrapolated from the critical analysis of data, on the other to derive indications for a possible schematization of the contribution offered by the green-wall to the improvement of the conditions of indoor comfort. The research focused on the interpretation of the values measured by the sensors for the validation of simplified calculation models available in bibliography. The analysis allowed the extrapolation of data useful for the calculation of the Kv-parameter, the so-called “green factor”, an index describing the contribution to indoor cooling offered by the green-wall. The evaluation of the Kv-parameter demonstrates the substantial contribution of the green-wall to the reduction of the energy flux entering the opaque wall.

Research paper thumbnail of Preliminary study on eel breeding and vegetables production in an aquaponic system

Research paper thumbnail of ACCRESCIMENTO DELLE PIANTE CON LUCE LED

L’applicazione di LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) come fonte di radiazione luminosa per l’orto-floro... more L’applicazione di LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) come fonte di radiazione luminosa per l’orto-floro-vivaismo in serra si
prospetta di notevole interesse economico oltre che colturale ed energetico. Lo sviluppo della nuova tecnologia di
semiconduttori luminescenti come fonte di luce si presta particolarmente per l’accrescimento di piante in ambienti
chiusi e controllati di dimensioni ridotte. I LEDS consentono una fonte di luce “fredda” che non interferisce con le
esigenze di un microclima controllato nei confronti della temperatura dell’aria interna di un ambiente protetto.
Attualmente i sistemi LEDs disponibili presentano un tempo di vita medio superiore a quello delle lampade utilizzate
per fornire luce artificiale nelle serre e una efficienza non inferiore alle efficienze elettriche di conversione che si
avvicinano alle fonti tradizionali più usate, con una produzione spettrale ottimale vicino a quella della fotosintesi.
Recentemente, i LEDs hanno assunto grande importanza per le ricerche mirate allo sviluppo di sistemi vegetali
alimentari per lo Spazio, tuttavia il loro impiego come fonte di luce artificiale nelle serre presenta ancora un costo
relativamente elevato. In ogni caso, il forte interesse manifestato da numerose imprese e produttori del comparto delle
produzioni vegetali in serra lascia immaginare nel breve periodo una veloce riduzione dei costi. Si riportano in breve i
dati e le applicazioni più recenti dei LEDs nel comparto dei sistemi serra.