The economic benefits of intensive vegetable cultivation inside plastic greenhouses, particularly for small-holders, have driven a rapid mushrooming of long plastic tents in farmlands worldwide – but particularly in China, where they cover 3.3 million hectares and produce approximately US $60 million in produce (2008 figures).
The method conserves water, binds up carbon, shrinks land use, protects against soil erosion and exhaustion, and mitigates problematic dust storms.
But this change from conventional vegetable farming has harmful environmental effects as well. Chang et al review the current research and identify gaps in our knowledge in the February issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Does growing vegetables in plastic greenhouses enhance regional ecosystem services beyond the food supply? Jie Chang, Xu Wu, Yan Wang, Laura A Meyerson, Baojing Gu, Yong Min, Hui Xue, Changhui Peng, and Ying Ge. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2013 11:1, 43-49.