Leveraging circular nutrients to improve the sustainability of peri-urban agriculture
Mendoza Beltran, Angelica (Sphera Solutions GmbH)
Toboso-Chavero, Susana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Arosemena Polo, Juan David (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Romero Lestido, Adriana Lucia (Cetaqua Barcelona)
Villalba, Gara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Agriculture in the urban periphery (peri-UA) can potentially reduce its environmental impact through nutrient recovery from municipal solid and water waste, promoting local crops and displacing some dependency on imports. Shifting from linear to circular food-supply strategies should systemically consider trade-offs that depend on city-specific factors, such as crop patterns, waste management capabilities, and ecosystem status. We investigate these effects spatially and temporally with a tool based on prospective regionalized life cycle assessment to determine how the local and transboundary impacts of various strategies of nutrient circularity (such as struvite, compost, and recovered ammonium salts) applied to peri-UA areas affect climate change, regionalized marine and freshwater eutrophication, abiotic resource depletion, and water consumption, providing maps reflecting crop yields and impacts to aid urban planners. We illustrate with the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, where we find that applying compost with current waste management infrastructure can reduce the carbon footprint of peri-UA areas by up to 85%.
Grants:	European Commission 818002 European Commission 842460
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy ; SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities ; SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production ; SDG 13 - Climate Action ; SDG 14 - Life Below Water ; SDG 15 - Life on Land
Published in:	npj Urban Sustainability, Vol. 6 (January 2026) , art. 27, ISSN 2661-8001

DOI: 10.1038/s42949-025-00333-6

10 p, 1.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles