Eficiência energética em agroecossistema urbano com base agroecológica: ECOINEC

Abstract

Urban gardens hold great potential for producing fresh and nutritious food, especially for more vulnerable populations, and can also solve other issues like logistics and the disposal of organic waste in cities. Identifying efficient urban production models to achieve these objectives is essential for promoting the sustainable use of resources and improving human nutrition and health in large urban centers. In this context, a study aimed at determining the food production capacity and energy efficiency of an agroecological urban agroforestry system was conducted in Fortaleza/CE. For this, energy conversion tables were used to perform calculations related to the agroecological EROI (Energy Return on Investment), and the quantification of production allowed for estimating the amount of food the system can produce and meet the needs of one person. The EROI helped quantify the productive well-being of the studied agroecosystem, demonstrating the efficiency of this model within society and how it is implemented and managed. The results showed that the amount of biomass added to the system directly affects productivity, even with the climatic adversities observed during the study, indicating a positive impact of biomass addition and incorporation as organic matter. Furthermore, during the research, the need for multidimensional and interdisciplinary studies, incorporating economic, agronomic, ecological, social, and political variables, became apparent for constructing all the elaborated parameters and data. This highlights the urgency of incentives and research focused on agroforestry systems, both in commonly observed agroecosystems and, especially, in urban agroecosystems, where data and research are currently lacking.