Climate-Smart Greenhouses for Sustainable Food Production

Summary

The speaker, a plant physiological ecologist, discusses their work with greenhouses on campus, focusing on research in agroecology and innovative agricultural technologies. They highlight the role of greenhouses in plant growth, climate resilience, and productivity. The speaker shares their involvement in electricity-generating greenhouses, which use solar panels to improve plant growth efficiency. Additionally, they introduce the use of Li-Fi technology to monitor and control greenhouse conditions, aiming to create the world's smartest greenhouse by integrating agrivoltaics, sensors, and Internet of Things technologies for improved sustainability and resource management.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker is a plant physiological ecologist, working on how plants function in various environments, including greenhouses.
• 😀 Greenhouses at the campus are used for research, teaching, and conserving biodiversity, focusing on agroecology and the food system.
• 😀 Greenhouses are part of protected agriculture, which helps provide resilience to climate extremes and boosts productivity, but they can be energy and water-intensive.
• 😀 Despite their high energy use, protected agriculture, including greenhouses, is widespread, with significant investments in indoor agriculture.
• 😀 The speaker became involved in greenhouse technology after collaborating on electricity-generating greenhouses that use solar energy efficiently.
• 😀 Plants grown under electricity-generating greenhouses, using solar panels, showed equal or better photosynthesis rates than in conventional greenhouses.
• 😀 New collaborations focus on improving greenhouse technologies with smart systems using Li-Fi, a digital signal-based communication method that enhances energy and resource management.
• 😀 Li-Fi enables plants to contribute data to control systems for optimizing greenhouse conditions like temperature, lighting, and watering.
• 😀 The Internet of Things (IoT) is used in the system, with sensors collecting real-time data about conditions like humidity, temperature, and soil moisture.
• 😀 The ultimate goal is to create the world’s smartest greenhouse by integrating agrivoltaics (solar panels over crops) to optimize plant growth and energy efficiency.

Q & A

What is the role of greenhouses in agricultural research and teaching?

Greenhouses on campus are used for growing plants for research, teaching classes, and maintaining biodiversity genomic collections. They play a central role in agroecology and the food system by supporting the growth of plants until they are large enough to survive outdoors.

What is 'protected agriculture' and why is it important?

Protected agriculture refers to farming practices that involve structures like greenhouses to protect plants from climate extremes. It offers benefits like higher productivity and resilience but can be energy and water-intensive.

How much investment was made in protected and indoor agriculture in 2022?

In the first half of 2022, over two billion dollars were invested in protected and indoor agriculture.

What collaboration is being explored in the speaker's research?

The speaker's research involves collaborating with Katya and Colleen to explore new greenhouse technologies, particularly focusing on improving lighting, heating, cooling, and water management in greenhouses.

What role do light-emitting diodes (LEDs) play in greenhouse operations?

LEDs are used in greenhouses to provide supplemental lighting, especially during cloudy days or shorter winter days. These LEDs help support plant growth by extending daylight hours.

What is 'Li-Fi' and how is it used in the speaker's greenhouse research?

Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) is a communication system that uses LED light to transmit data. It serves as a parallel channel to Wi-Fi, allowing greenhouse systems to communicate with computerized control boards that manage temperature, humidity, and lighting.

How does the Internet of Things (IoT) integrate with the greenhouse technology?

The IoT hardware and software, similar to systems used in devices like doorbells and vacuums, are integrated into the greenhouse to collect data such as temperature and humidity, which helps optimize plant care and resource usage.

What is the planned outcome of integrating sensors and technology in the greenhouse?

The goal is to create a more responsive system that uses sensors to gather real-time data from plants, enabling better control of temperature, lighting, and watering to improve plant growth while conserving resources.

Why is there a focus on water usage in greenhouse operations?

Water usage is a significant concern in greenhouse operations, and the speaker is working to monitor and optimize irrigation systems to reduce water consumption while maintaining plant health.

What is agrivoltaics, and how could it benefit the Center for Agroecology?

Agrivoltaics is the practice of placing solar panels over agricultural fields, creating a synergy where plants benefit from shade and the solar panels are more efficient due to the cooling effects of plant moisture. This technology is part of the speaker's vision for powering the Center for Agroecology sustainably.