Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions

Vertical farming is a sustainable solution for urban agriculture by optimizing space and resources. However, this requires ideal indoor climatic conditions to achieve maximum crop yield and quality. This research develops and validates a prediction model based on NeuralProphet algorithm to assess t...

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Main Authors: Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia, Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki, Enrica Santolini, Daniele Torreggiani, Thomas Bartzanas, Patrizia Tassinari, Marco Bovo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PAGEPress Publications 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Agricultural Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.agroengineering.org/jae/article/view/1793
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author Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki
Enrica Santolini
Daniele Torreggiani
Thomas Bartzanas
Patrizia Tassinari
Marco Bovo
author_facet Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki
Enrica Santolini
Daniele Torreggiani
Thomas Bartzanas
Patrizia Tassinari
Marco Bovo
author_sort Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia
collection DOAJ
description Vertical farming is a sustainable solution for urban agriculture by optimizing space and resources. However, this requires ideal indoor climatic conditions to achieve maximum crop yield and quality. This research develops and validates a prediction model based on NeuralProphet algorithm to assess the vapor pressure deficit in a vertical farming facility. The model uses environmental data such as temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation to predict vapor pressure deficit (VPD), a key indicator of vegetation health and crop growth status. The model shows high accuracy and reliability with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 34.80 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 25.28. The model, demonstrating satisfactory performance in predicting VPD, enables optimization of indoor growth conditions, thereby improving resources use efficiency and minimizing operational costs. Finally, it indicates a promising application of advanced artificial intelligence tools in vertical farming management to establish a sustainable and economically feasible agricultural practice since the model can help to produce high quality crops through a precise control of environmental parameters.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher PAGEPress Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Agricultural Engineering
spelling doaj-art-1b26e8bc9cb74992a7dc9edc3255a1f62025-08-20T03:57:36ZengPAGEPress PublicationsJournal of Agricultural Engineering1974-70712239-62682025-07-0110.4081/jae.2025.1793Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditionsCarlos Alejandro Perez Garcia0Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki1Enrica Santolini2Daniele Torreggiani3Thomas Bartzanas4Patrizia Tassinari5Marco Bovo6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5757-8514Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of AthensDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of AthensDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna Vertical farming is a sustainable solution for urban agriculture by optimizing space and resources. However, this requires ideal indoor climatic conditions to achieve maximum crop yield and quality. This research develops and validates a prediction model based on NeuralProphet algorithm to assess the vapor pressure deficit in a vertical farming facility. The model uses environmental data such as temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation to predict vapor pressure deficit (VPD), a key indicator of vegetation health and crop growth status. The model shows high accuracy and reliability with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 34.80 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 25.28. The model, demonstrating satisfactory performance in predicting VPD, enables optimization of indoor growth conditions, thereby improving resources use efficiency and minimizing operational costs. Finally, it indicates a promising application of advanced artificial intelligence tools in vertical farming management to establish a sustainable and economically feasible agricultural practice since the model can help to produce high quality crops through a precise control of environmental parameters. https://www.agroengineering.org/jae/article/view/1793microclimate forecastingindoor agricultureNeuralProphetvertical farmingvapor pressure deficit
spellingShingle Carlos Alejandro Perez Garcia
Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki
Enrica Santolini
Daniele Torreggiani
Thomas Bartzanas
Patrizia Tassinari
Marco Bovo
Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
Journal of Agricultural Engineering
microclimate forecasting
indoor agriculture
NeuralProphet
vertical farming
vapor pressure deficit
title Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
title_full Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
title_fullStr Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
title_full_unstemmed Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
title_short Forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
title_sort forecasting the vapor pressure deficit in vertical farming facilities aiming to provide optimal indoor conditions
topic microclimate forecasting
indoor agriculture
NeuralProphet
vertical farming
vapor pressure deficit
url https://www.agroengineering.org/jae/article/view/1793
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