ALISE aims to develop a decision support methodology to integrate the cascade framework assessment of Ecosystem Services (ES), including spatial and temporal dimensions, with the cause-effect chain approach of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method as a crucial tool for environmental sustainability. Accordingly, this methodology will contribute to increase the knowledge about environmental sustainability and effects on ES provisioning.
The activities to be carried out will be focused on achieving:
- The safety, quality and sustainable production of basic Mediterranean foods such as cereals (wheat) and legumes (lentil, chickpea and lupin) to promote a circular economy, by proposing novel biotechnological strategies for the valorization of agri-food biomass into bioproducts with high added value and to minimize the effects of climate change derived from the agri-food system;
- To promote the production, provision and safe consumption of alternative sources of protein (plant-based ones) based on a sound understanding of their implications;
- To mitigate the loss of biodiversity, resources and ecosystem services derived from an unsustainable agri-food system.
The results of ALISE will have an impact at different levels, be it social, economic, environmental and scientific. Sophisticated status quo analysis and advanced modelling approaches combined with data generated from engineering simulations and agricultural cropping systems and transdisciplinary knowledge-exchange will lead to concrete innovations and to the development of an integrated methodology to assess the effects from environmental impacts from LCA on ES provisioning. The latter is of particular interest to agronomists, processors and decision makers to help determine a range of options for successful transitions that include a variety of legume species and biorefinery processing approaches. ALISE aims building up market confidence on the sustainability of bio-based products and, therefore, contribute to their market uptake. At the same time, it will support the development of new economic activities and new job opportunities in local/regional communities, specifically in agriculture and bioeconomy sectors.