Lily Killner - The opportunities and challenges surrounding sustainable houseplant production

In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium we are joined by (Meliora Editor) Lily Killner (BSc Environmental Science) to discuss her Independent Research Project 'The Impacts of Houseplant Production'.Houseplant demand has been growing rapidly since the Covid-19 pandemic, causing concerns for sustainability due to resource demand (SDG 12), energy requirements (SDG 7 and 13) and pollution (SDG 14). A life cycle analysis was conducted to identify the components of production with the greatest carbon footprint; with substrate, fertilizer and pots scoped in, followed by analysis of alternative materials. There was no significant difference between the three substrates scoped in, but nitrogen was found to be the largest emitter compared to the other components of fertilizer. Fertilizer and substrate were found to have significantly higher footprints compared to pots. Barriers to implementation and possibility to mitigate the footprint and additional impacts were identified to fully evaluate the materials scoped in.Further reading: Bulgari, R., Petrini, A., Cocetta, G., Nicoletto, C., Ertani, A., Sambo, Paolo., Ferrante, A., Nicola, S., 2021. The impact of COVID-19 on horticulture: critical issues and opportunities derived from an unexpected occurrence. Horticulturae, 7(6), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7060124Darras, A. I., 2020. Implementation of sustainable practices to ornamental plant cultivation worldwide: a critical review. Agronomy, 10(10), 1570. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10101570The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.Episode Guest: Lily Killner Episode Host: Prof Simon KempEpisode Editor: Lily KillnerEngage with us on instagram and X: @meliorapodcast