145001 20260217205556.0 doi 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122297 sideral 139843 ART-2024-139843 eng Palacino, Barbara (orcid)0000-0003-2783-0314 Regeneration costs of topsoil fertility: An exergy indicator of agricultural impacts 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted In recent years, heightened environmental concerns linked to agriculture have surged, with soil degradation standing out as a global issue. However, prevailing sustainability assessment methodologies in agriculture often overlook soil systems due to their intricate nature. This study aims to develop a methodology for evaluating soil degradation in agricultural practices using exergy regeneration costs. These costs determine the exergy required to restore soil fertility to pre-harvest levels. The methodology covers key soil factors like nutrients, organic matter, and prevalent issues like salinity, acidification, and erosion. For each of these factors, exergy regeneration costs are determined based on the energy needed to execute an optimal process for reverting the soil to its original or ideal state. The methodology has been applied to data from agricultural trials, showing that the calculated soil replacement cost is significantly higher compared to one of the most energy-demanding processes in agriculture, the use of urea. This demonstrates that agricultural soil degradation needs to be quantified for a correct evaluation of agricultural practices and their sustainability. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/EC-11-2022 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/EC-14-2022 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-BIOESTILAS CPP2021-008318 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-RESTORE PID2023-148401OB-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es 8.4 2024 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 31 / 376 = 0.082 2024 Q1 T1 1.994 2024 Environmental Engineering 2024 Q1 Waste Management and Disposal 2024 Q1 Medicine (miscellaneous) 2024 Q1 Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 2024 Q1 14.4 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Ascaso, Sonia (orcid)0000-0003-4202-9437 Valero, Antonio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-0702-733X Valero, Alicia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-3330-1793 5004 590 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica Área Máquinas y Motores Térmi. 369 (2024), 122297 [10 pp.] J. environ. manag. Journal of environmental management 0301-4797 2277519 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145001/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2576999 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145001/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:145001 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:42:37 ARTICLE