scholarly journals Environmental Impact Assessments of Integrated Food and Non-Food Production Systems in Italy and Denmark

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Lisa Mølgaard Lehmann ◽  
Magdalena Borzęcka ◽  
Katarzyna Żyłowska ◽  
Andrea Pisanelli ◽  
Giuseppe Russo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Production System ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Silvopastoral System ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
Conventional Production

Given the environmental footprints of the conventional agriculture, it is imperative to test and validate alternative production systems, with lower environmental impacts to mitigate and adapt our production systems. In this study, we identified six production systems, four in Italy and two in Denmark, to assess the environmental footprint for comparison among the production systems and additionally with conventional production systems. SimaPro 8.4 software was used to carry out the life cycle impact assessment. Among other indicators, three significantly important indicators, namely global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication, were used as the proxy for life cycle impact assessment. In Italy, the production systems compared were silvopastoral, organic, traditional, and conventional olive production systems, whereas in Denmark, combined food and energy production system was compared with the conventional wheat production system. Among the six production systems, conventional wheat production system in Denmark accounted for highest global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication. In Italy, global warming potential was highest in traditional agroforestry and lowest in the silvopastoral system whereas acidification and eutrophication were lowest in the traditional production system with high acidification effects from the silvopastoral system. In Italy, machinery use contributed the highest greenhouse gas emissions in silvopastoral and organic production systems, while the large contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer was recorded in the traditional and conventional production systems. In Denmark, the combined food and energy system had lower environmental impacts compared to the conventional wheat production system according to the three indicators. For both systems in Denmark, the main contribution to greenhouse gas emission was due to fertilizer and manure application. The study showed that integrated food and non-food systems are more environmentally friendly and less polluting compared to the conventional wheat production system in Denmark with use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation. The study can contribute to informed decision making by the land managers and policy makers for promotion of environmentally friendly food and non-food production practices, to meet the European Union targets of providing biomass-based materials and energy to contribute to the bio-based economy in Europe and beyond.

scholarly journals Global Warming Potential, Variable Costs, and Water Use of a Model Greenhouse Production System for 11.4-cm Annual Plants Using Life Cycle Assessment

HortScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Joshua Knight
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Production System ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Environmental Controls

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to analyze the global warming potential (GWP) and variable costs of production system components for an 11.4-cm container of wax begonia (Begonia ×semperflorens-cultorum Hort) modeled in a gutter-connected, Dutch-style greenhouse with natural ventilation in the northeastern United States. A life cycle inventory of the model system was developed based on grower interviews and published best management practices. In this model, the GWP of input products, equipment use, and environmental controls for an individual plant would be 0.140 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2e) and the variable costs would total $0.666. Fifty-seven percent of the GWP and 43% of the variable costs would be due to the container and the portion of a 12-plant shuttle tray assigned to a plant. Electricity for irrigation and general overhead would be only 13% of GWP and 2% of variable costs. Natural gas use for heating would be 0.01% of GWP and less of the variable costs, even at a northeastern U.S. location. This was because of the rapid crop turnover and only heated for 3 months of a 50-week production year. Life cycle GWP contributions through carbon sequestration of flowering annuals after being transplanted in the landscape would be minor compared with woody plants; however, others have documented numerous benefits that enhance the human environment.

scholarly journals Analysis of energy balance and global warming potential in tangerine (Citrus tangerina Tanaka) orchards versus soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) production system

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Seyed Saeed HOSSEINI ◽  
Hassan FEIZI ◽  
Hamed KAVEH ◽  
Hossein SAHABI
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Production System ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Total Output ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Harvesting Process

With the aim of evaluation and comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions from soybean and tangerine production in Golestan province, Iran, a pilot experiment was carried out. In this experiment, 43 fields of soybeans and 43 orchard tangerines were selected by various management in the province using questionnaires. The greenhouse gas emissions were examined using the Global Warming Potential (GWP). The results of this study showed that fossil fuel was the highest energy consumption in the production of soybeans (6906.5 MJ ha-1) and tangerines (17205.1 MJ ha-1). The lowest amount of energy consumption among inputs was related to micro fertilizers, that was 9 MJ ha-1 for soybeans and 17.6 MJ ha-1 for tangerine. In both of production system, the most energy consumed was shown for the harvesting sector. Irrigation and planting were the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in soybean field by 387.7 and 109.4 kg CO2 ha-1, respectively; while in the tangerine production, the most greenhouse gas emissions were related to irrigation and harvesting process by 5828.4 and 394.7 kg CO2 ha-1. In general, input energy in soybean and tangerine were 17512.8 and 33879.8 MJ ha-1, total output energy was calculated 48310.5 and 105463 MJ ha-1. Finally, the energy use efficiency was computed for soybean and tangerine 2.9 and 3.3, respectively.

scholarly journals Modeling Global Warming Potential, Variable Costs, and Water Use of Young Plant Production System Components Using Life Cycle Assessment

HortScience ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 1356-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Joshua Knight
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Foliage Plants ◽  
Heating And Cooling

The components for two production systems for young foliage plants in 72-count propagation trays were analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA) procedures. The systems differed by greenhouse type, bench size and arrangement, rainwater capture, and irrigation/fertilization methods. System A was modeled as a gutter-connected, rounded-arch greenhouse without a ridge vent and covered with double-layer polyethylene, and the plants were fertigated through sprinklers on stationary benches. System B was modeled as a more modern gutter-connected, Dutch-style greenhouse using natural ventilation, and moveable, ebb-flood production tables. Inventories of input products, equipment use, and labor were generated from the protocols for those scenarios and a LCA was conducted to determine impacts on the respective greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the subsequent carbon footprint (CF) of foliage plants at the farm gate. CF is expressed in global warming potential for a 100-year period (GWP) in units of kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2e). The GWP of the 72-count trays were calculated as 4.225 and 2.276 kg CO2e with variable costs of $25.251 and $24.857 for trays of foliage plants grown using Systems A and B, respectively. The GWP of most inputs and processes were similar between the two systems. Generally, the more modern greenhouse in System B was more efficient in terms of space use for production, heating and cooling, fertilization, and water use. While overhead costs were not measured, these differences in efficiency would also help to offset any increases in overhead costs per square foot associated with higher-cost, more modern greenhouse facilities. Thus, growers should consider the gains in efficiency and their influences on CF, variable costs (and overhead costs) when making future decisions regarding investment in greenhouse structures.

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