Consumer-driven nutrient recycling of freshwater decapods: linking ecological theories and application in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture

The Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MET) and the Ecological Stoichiometry Theory (EST) are central and complementary in the consumer-driven recycling conceptual basis. The comprehension of physiological processes of organisms at different levels of organizations is essential to explore and predict nutrient recycling behavior in different scenarios, and to design integrated productive systems that efficiently use the nutrient inputs through an adjusted mass balance. We fed with fish-feed three species of decapods from different families and with aquacultural potential to explore the animal-mediated nutrient dynamic and its applicability in productive systems. We tested whether physiological (body mass, body elemental content), ecological (diet), taxonomic and experimental (time of incubation) variables predicts N and P excretion rates and ratios across and within taxa. We also analysed body mass and body elemental content independently as predictors of N and P excretion of decapods across, among and within taxa. Finally, we verified if body content scales allometrically across and within taxa and if differed among taxa. Body mass and taxonomic identity predicted nutrient excretion rates both across and within taxa. When physiological variables were analysed independently, body size best predicted nutrient mineralization in both scales of analyses. Regarding body elemental content, only body P content scaled negatively with body mass across taxa. Results showed higher N-requirements and lower C:N of prawns than anomurans and crabs. The role of crustaceans as nutrient recyclers depends mainly on the species and body mass, and should be considered to select complementary species that efficiently use feed resources. Prawns need more protein in their feed and might be integrated with fish of higher N-requirements, while crabs and anomurans, with fish of lower N-requirements. Our study contributed to the background of MTE and EST through empirical data obtained from decapods and provided useful information to achieve more efficient aquaculture integration systems.

Biobased Innovation as a Fashion and Textile Design Must: A European Perspective

Fashion industry investments drive the choice for textile solutions characterized by radical experimentation and a firm commitment to sustainability. In the last five years, textile innovations have been strongly related to biobased textile solutions evolving to become effectively feasible and strategic. The produced qualitative knowledge implementations consider new production patterns, innovative technical and digital know-how, and new consumption scenarios. The directions the industry is tracing may provide new opportunities for future textile development in the circular biobased economy. This paper presents a map of current European practices. It discusses the possible passage through a holistic paradigm that goes beyond the boundaries of the old productive systems to accompany the sector towards a new sustainable and transversal state. It also presents three selected best practices that return the actual context in which the phenomenon occurs. A model is presented to demonstrate how these circular processes of biobased materials production enable more process innovations which are developed through implementing the process itself: companies’ search for rethinking and implementing the traditional practices or designing new ones (as determined by the doctoral research of one of the authors).

Agro-Fruit-Forest Systems Based on Argan Tree in Morocco: A Review of Recent Results

The argan tree, Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels, is a horticultural forestry species characterized by its endemicity and adaptation to arid and semi-arid zones in the southwest of Morocco. Despite its limited geographical distribution, argan tree presents large genetic diversity, suggesting that improvement of argan is possible. This species plays important ecological, and socioeconomic roles in the sustainable development of the country. The integration of arganiculture into Moroccan agricultural policy has been implemented through a sector strategy, which is fully aligned with the conservation and regeneration of argan forest. A. spinosa is suitable for incorporation into different agroforestry productive systems under agro-fruit-forest model and its domestication will provide a powerful means of socio-economic and environmental management. Here, we provide an overview of the argan tree literature and highlight the specific aspects of argan stands, as agro-forest systems, with the aim of developing an adequate strategy of conservation and domestication of this species. We introduce promising programs and projects for argan plantations and arganiculture, which have been adopted to relieve anthropogenic pressure on the natural argan forest.

Consumers’ Journey between Liquid and Solid Consumption

Sharing economy brought changes both at the macroeconomic and the individual level. New models of consumption, such as the liquid one, are becoming very frequent, shaping countries’ productive systems and consumers’ habits. This paper—combining both theoretical approaches—aims at measuring the individual characteristics that induce consumers to prefer liquid versus solid consumption. First, the article contextualizes the topic from a broader, macroeconomic perspective, and later on, it narrows its angle of view making it rather microeconomic and behavioral. In this specific regard, by means of a cluster analysis, four profiles of consumers are identified: (1) Rational and liquid; (2) Hybrid and question mark; (3) Solid in transition; (4) Hyper solid. Characteristics as well as theoretical and managerial implications are outlined for each cluster. This research focusing on emerging consumer behavior contributes to the current debate on solid and liquid consumption (i) exploring the continuum between these two extremes, (ii) defining a first behavioral profile of customer that are traveling between solid and liquid state and (iii) designing a possible way to target such a blurred and fast evolving customer that mostly qualifies a global and rapidly evolving economic environment.

Changes of Dynamics in Local Productive Systems Based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry in Western Sierra Morena (Spain)

Local Productive Systems (hereinafter LPSs) based on agro-food industries constitute alternative models of development in peripheral rural areas that are subject to internal and external dynamics and processes. The main objective of this research is to investigate these processes and their consequences on four LPSs based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry (hereinafter LPS-IPTI) in SW Spain: Fregenal de la Sierra, Higuera la Real, Cumbres Mayores and Jabugo. Using secondary data, a comparison is made between 2002 and 2020 to establish the changes, causes and consequences on the LPS-IPTIs studied. The results obtained indicate (1) the business and territorial concentration of LPS-IPTIs; (2) changes in the structure of the LPS-IPTI due to internal and external causes that were already present before the international economic crisis; (3) productive and territorial specialisation in standardised products and quality products that generated the polarisation of the sector; (4) simplification of industrial processes; (5) loss of employment, especially female; (6) external control of companies in the sector which, accordingly, brings about the loss of prominence of local actors in favour of foreign companies, reduced social capital and the progressive loss of ownership of the LPS.

Local productive systems within the perspective of the circular economy

The objective of this research is to present a proposal of the production function of the circular economy to contribute to the conceptual development of local productive systems. A systematic review of the literature and a critical discourse analysis were used, allowing to adjust the production functions within the LPS. The results describe how LPSs can be within into a circular productive dynamic allowing a change in the focus of the production function, which in the dominanteconomic discourse ignores possible resources and only assumes linear management models, within these systems. In conclusion, by adjusting the production function for SPLs in a dynamic circular economy, it allows the incorporation of waste as a type of secondary capital in production processes. Keywords: local productive systems, linear economy, circular economy. References [1]M. Scalone, "Introducción al enfoque de sistemas en agricultura y su aplicación para el desarrollo de sistemas de producción sostenibles". 2007. [2]M. Astudillo, "Fundamentos de Economia 1", Primera edición. México: UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas. 2012. [3]R. Tansini, "Economía para no economistas" Uruguay: Universidad de la República, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, 2000, 198. [4]M. A. Sánchez, "La clasificación de los factores de producción fue retomada de: Parkin, Michael. Economía. Octava edición. México: Pearson Educación, 2009, 3.[5]P. Triunfo, M. Torello, N. Berretta, L. Vicente, U. Della-Mea, M. Bergara, … and M. González, "Economía para no economistas". Montevideo: Departamento deSociología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, 2003. [6]C. Massad, "Economía para todos". Chile: Banco Central de Chile, 2010, 59. [7]R. Pindyck, D. Rubinfeld, "Microeconomía" Prentice Hall. 1995. [8]C.L Garcia, "Economía circular y su papel en el diseño e innovación sustentable", Libros Editorial UNIMAR, 2017. [9]V. Prieto-Sandoval, C. Jaca and M. Ormazabal. "Economía circular: Relación con la evolución del concepto de sostenibilidad y estrategias para su implementación", Memoria de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Universidad de Montevideo: Facultad de Ingeniería, 2017. [10]P. Samuelson, W. Nordhaus, "Microeconomia", 19a edición. México: Mc Graw Hill, 2017. [11]T. Winpenny, "El valor del medio ambiente. Métodos de valoración económica", Varsovia, 1995. [12]E. Neumayer, "Preserving Natural Capital in a World of Uncertainty and Scarce Financial Resources", International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 5 (1), 1998, 27-42. [13]D. Kiełczewski, "Sustainable development - the essence, interpretations, relationship with the knowledge society", Economics of sustainable development. Study materials: Szkoła Ekonomiczna, Białystok, 2010, 10-29. [14]F. Aguilera, V. Alcántara, "De la economía ambiental a la economía ecológica". Barcelona: ICARIA: FUHEM, 1994. [15]Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "Towards The Circular Economy, Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition", Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013. [16]D. Pieńkowski, Kapitał naturalny w teoretycznych analizach czynników produkcji. Ekonomia i Środowisko, No. 1(21), 2002. [17]D. Pieńkowski, "Czasopismo Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistów Środowiska i Zasobów Naturalnych", Fundacja Ekonomistów Środowiska i ZasobówNaturalnych Białystok. No. 2 (57), 2016. [18]D. Audretsch, "Knowledge Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production" American Economic Review 86, 1996, 630–640. [19]F. Morales, "Desarrollo: los retos de los municipios mexicanos", Centro de Estudios Municipales Heriberto Jara, 2000. [Online]. Available: www.cedemun.org.mx. [20]Ramírez, N., Mungaray, A., Ramírez, M., and Texis, M. "Economías de escala y rendimientos crecientes: Una aplicación en microempresas mexicanas. Economía mexicana". Nueva época, 19(2), 2010, 213-230. [Online]. Available: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S166520452010000200001&lng=es&tlng=es. 2010. [21]P. Krugman, "Urban Concentration: The Role of Increasing Returns, and Transport Costs", International Regional Science Review, 19, 1996, 5-30. [22]G. Perry, W.F. Maloney, O.S. Arias, P. Fajnzylber, A.D. Mason and J. Saavedra-Chanduvi. Informalidad: Escape y exclusión. Washington, Banco Mundial, 2007. [23]G. Garófoli, "The Italian Model of Spatial Development in the 1970s and 1980s", Industrial Change & Regional Development. Belhaven Press, London, 1991. [24]G. Garofoli, "Las experiencias de desarrollo económico local en Europa: las enseñanzas para América Latina". San José, Costa Rica: URB-AL III, 2009.

Local Productive Systems’ Transitions to Industry 4.0+

The paper is positioned in the emerging debate on the technological change brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, often referred to as Industry 4.0. Our analysis is at the local, sub-national level. The aim is to explore what drivers and barriers local productive systems might face when seeking to embark on transitions that reconcile smart, equitable, and sustainable priorities, under enhanced models called Industry 4.0+. The novelty of the paper is to develop such models by designing a conceptual framework that juxtaposes the drivers and the barriers of sustainability transitions with local productive systems. This novel framework suggests possible pathways that local productive systems can initiate to achieve more equitable and green outcomes for their economy and society by directing the development of digital-related solutions.

Changes of Dynamics in Local Productive Systems Based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry in Western Sierra Morena (Spain)

Local Productive Systems (hereinafter LPS) based on agro-food industries constitute alternative models of development in peripheral rural areas that are subject to internal and external dynamics and processes. The main objective of the research is to investigate the processes and their consequences on four SPLs based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry (hereinafter LPS-IPTI) in SW Spain: Fregenal de la Sierra, Higuera la Real, Cumbres Mayores and Jabugo. Using secondary data, a comparison is made between 2002 and 2020 to establish the changes, causes and consequences on the LPS-IPTI studied. The results obtained indicate (1) business and territorial concentration of LPS-IPTI; (2) productive and territorial specialisation in standardised products and quality products; (3) simplification of industrial processes; (4) loss of employment, especially female; (5) external control of companies in the sector which, accordingly, results in the loss of prominence of local actors in favour of foreign companies, reduced social capital and the progressive loss of ownership of the LPS.

Woody species associated with coffee production systems in southern Colombia

In the coffee zone of the town La Unión- Nariño, native or introduced trees are associated with the productive systems of the farms, mainly because they provide shade for coffee crops, where particular aspects such as species biodiversity and silvicultural management are unknown. With the aim of knowing the woody species of common use and the cultural importance, a semi structured survey was applied to 100 coffee growers who were selected at random and aleatorily distributed in three altitudinal ranges: (m.a.s.l.): I (<1500), II (1500-1800) and III (> 1800). Species richness was determined for each chosen range; for diversity between ranges, the Jaccard Index (JI) and the Cultural Importance Index (CI) were used. The latter was determined by adding up the intensity of use (IU), frequency of citation (FC), and use value (UV). In the three altitude ranges evaluated, 59 tree species were found. These were distributed in 32 botanical families and 46 genera. The fabaceae family was the most representative, followed by rutaceae, myrtaceae and bignoniaceae; 45.8% of the species were introduced. Among the altitudinal ranges, a low degree similarity was found; ranks I and II shared 24 species, which is equivalent to 33.8% of their floristic composition. As for ranges I and III, they had an even lower degree of similarity: 24.2%; only 17 species were shared. The species I. densiflora had the highest percentage of CI, with 32.92%, followed by C. sinensis with 31.98%; then the species T. gigantea and P. americana with 30.49% and 26.27% respectively. These species were of great importance to coffee growers due to the positive impact they have on the family economy and their contribution to the environmental well-being of production systems.

Territories of Faith: 1000 Years of Landscape Multifunctionality in Santa Mariña de Augas Santas (NW Spain)

Landscape multifunctionality is increasingly recognized as an important aspect in sustainability and developmental debates. Yet, how and why a multifunctional landscape configuration develops over time has not been sufficiently studied. Here we present the geoarchaeological investigation of the Santa Mariña de Augas Santas site, in northwestern Spain. We focus on the role of religious practice, and of its interplay with productive strategies, in landscape transformation. A geochemical, mineralogical, and geochronological characterization of the pedo-sedimentary record (including XRF, EA-IRMS, XRD, OSL and 14C measurements) allowed to characterize catchment scale sedimentation processes in relation to agricultural activities. The geographical and chronological coincidence of production functions with documented religious activities demonstrate that both aspects shared geographical spaces during the last millennium. Current landscape multifunctionality at Santa Mariña is thus not the final outcome of a specific evolution, but an essential aspect of traditional land use strategies through history and a driver of change. This work highlights the need of a long-term study of the processes of landscape configuration when assessing the sustainability of traditional productive systems.