Breeding for Sustainable Strawberries: Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Different Cultivation Systems Across Europe

Agriculture and animal husbandry are important contributors to global emissions of greenhouse (GHG) and acidifying gases. Moreover, they contribute to water pollution and to consumption of non-renewable natural resources such as land and energy. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology allows evaluation of the environmental impact of a process from the production of inputs to the final product and to assess simultaneously several environmental impact categories among which GHG emissions, acidification, eutrophication, land use and energy use. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate, using the LCA methodology, the environmental impact of milk production in a sample of 41 intensive Italian dairy farms and to identify, among different farming strategies, those associated with the best environmental performances. The functional unit was 1kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM). Farms showed characteristics of high production intensity: FPCM, expressed as tonnes per hectare, was 30·8±15·1. Total GHG emission per kg FPCM at farm gate was 1·30±0·19kg CO2 eq. The main contributors to climate change potential were emissions from barns and manure storage (50·1%) and emissions for production and transportation of purchased feeds (21·2%). Average emission of gases causing acidification to produce 1kg FPCM was 19·7±3·6g of SO2 eq. Eutrophication potential was 9·01±1·78 ${\rm PO}_{\rm 4}^{{\rm 3} -} {\rm eq}.$ per kg FPCM on average. Farms from this study needed on average 5·97±1·32MJ per kg FPCM from non-renewable energy sources. Energy consumption was mainly due to off-farm activities (58%) associated with purchased factors. Land use was 1·51±0·25m2 per kg FPCM. The farming strategy based on high conversion efficiency at animal level was identified as the most effective to mitigate the environmental impact per kg milk at farm gate, especially in terms of GHG production and non-renewable energy use per kg FPCM.

이 연구는 번식방법과 재배시스템별 딸기 '설향' 품종의 생산성을 조사하기 위하여 수행되었다. 삽목법과 유인법으로 번식된 이식묘를 토경과 수경재배 시스템에서 진주의 딸기 재배농가에서 2018년 9월12일부터 한 작기 동안 재배하였다. 과실 수확은 2018년 12월 20일에 시작하여 작기가 끝날 때까지 4-5일 간격으로 계속하였다. 전 수확기간 동안 생육, 과실 생산성 및 품질을 측정하였다. 번식방법이 크라운 직경, 엽장 및 엽폭에 유의미한 영향을 미쳤다. 재배시스템은 크라운 직경, 엽장, 엽폭, 엽록소 함량 및 엽수에 상당한 영향을 주었다. 전 수확기간 동안 포기 당 총 과실 수량과 과실 당 평균 과중은 토경재배 시스템에서 유의미하게 낮았다. 시장성이 없는 총 과일 비율은 수경재배 보다 토경재배 시스템에서 현저하게 더 높았다. 시장성이 없는 과일 토경에서는 주로 작은 과일인데인데 반해 수경재배에서는 주로 기형 과일이었다. 전반적인 고품질 과실은 2월에 수확되었고, 수경재배 시스템에서 토경에 비해 과실의 품질이 더 높았다. 삽목번식이 유인번식 보다 더 좋았고, '설향'의 과실 생산성을 높이기 위해서는 수경재배가 토경재배 보다 더 우수하다는 결론을 얻었다.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to identify the potential environmental impact of dredged sediments used as growing media for food crops. The dredged sediments used came from Livorno port and were previously phytoremediated. For the assay, strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch vr. ‘San Andreas’) were used. The plants were cultivated on three different substrates (100% peat, 100% dredged sediment and 50% mix peat/sediment) to identify the real impact of the culture media on the growing process. LCA was calculated and analyzed according to ISO 14040:2006 by SimaPro software. ReCipe Midpoint (E) V1.13/Europe Recipe E method was applied. One kilogram of produced strawberry, for each crop media tested, was defined as the functional unit. Eighteen impact categories were selected where Marine Eutrophication (ME), Human Toxicity (HT) and Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FET) were identified as relevant impact categories. The LCA results showed an increase in the environmental impact of strawberry cultivation using 100% sediment against 100% peat, due to the decrease in fruit production caused by the sediment. Nevertheless, the decrease in the environmental impact and the fruit production increase identified when the sediment is used mixed (<50%) with other substrates. The appropriate use of these substrates would be justified within the context of the circular economy.

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM ANALYSIS FOR HORTICULTURAL CROP PRODUCTION

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to evaluate the impacts of trees outside woodlands and where improvements are needed. This review aims to discuss the primary limitations when using LCAs to assess trees outside woodlands, particularly in comparison to existing literature on their environmental, social, and economic implications. Methods Following the established STARR-LCA systematic review protocol, a total of 102 studies across 30 countries were identified. The selected studies used LCA frameworks to assess the impacts of five different trees outside woodland systems. Qualitative data relating to the tree system and LCA methodology were manually extracted from each study and summarised for analysis based on the four phases of an LCA: goal and scope, life cycle inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation. Results and discussion This review showed the selected studies were primarily located in Southern Europe, South America, and Asia. Orchards were the focus of 68% of the papers, followed by 13% assessing silvopastoral systems. No papers were found on hedgerows or Miyawaki forests, which were within the scope of this review. The most common functional units were based on mass, area, and economic measures, and 29% of studies used more than one functional unit to interpret their LCA results. Environmental impacts were considered in 98% of the selected studies, whereas 13% of studies integrated an economic impact assessment, and only 5% accounted for the social implications of trees outside woodlands. Similarly, even though trees outside woodlands can increase carbon sequestration and biodiversity levels, these measures were only incorporated into 25% and 10% of the LCA studies, respectively. Conclusions The environmental, economic, and social impacts of trees outside woodlands are dependent on the type of system and its intended purpose, climatic zone, and landscape. Process-based LCAs can be used to effectively assess the impacts of trees outside woodlands. However, the ability to holistically assess trees outside woodlands is limited by current LCA methodology, particularly when accounting for system multifunctionality or ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity. To address these limitations, four research recommendations have been made to improve future LCA studies. This could enhance the usefulness of LCAs in understanding sustainability trade-offs and facilitating decision-making across different tree system scenarios.

The railway sector plays an important role in the European transport sector and its environmental sustainability is a highly important issue today recognized by all the main stakeholders, including the European Commission. EU-28 railway transport network consisted of 220,000 km of railway lines in 2013. Such a big railway transport network requires maintenance. Maintenance of a railway infrastructure is a resource- and cost-demanding activity that has as well a considerable impact on the environment. This paper presents the results of the environmental assessment of an innovative new product which aims to decrease the environmental impact of the railway maintenance processes. Life cycle assessment methodology was used and results show that the biggest environmental impact, in all impact categories, is achieved in the use and maintenance phase. In the end, the normalized data of the environmental impact were presented using the standard functional unit for the freight trains: tonne for kilometre (tkm). Additionally, authors have compared two different functional units that could be used in Life cycle assessment of the self-propelled freight railway vehicles, proposing the use of the new functional unit: tonne for working hour (twh). Use of such customized functional unit is more appropriate because of the specific nature of work that selfpropelled bulk carriages have.

Cradle to farm gate life cycle assessment of strawberry production in the United States

Addressing the social life cycle inventory analysis data gap: Insights from a case study of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

PurposeUse a holistic individual life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate possible mitigation of environmental impacts through optimisation of overall farm feed efficiency by combining animal selection for feed efficiency and formulation of diets with minimum environmental impacts tailored to pig nutritional requirements.MethodsA linear multi-objective optimisation method was used to combine diet optimisation tailored to meet the representative nutritional requirements of genetic lines with environmental optimisation of the environmental impacts of the diet. Environmental optimisation was obtained by weighting the environmental impacts of the diet in a single environmental impact score. An individual trait-based LCA model with a cradle-to-farm-gate system boundary and functional unit of 1 kg live pig at the farm gate was applied to genetic lines selected for high (LRFI, high feed efficient line) and low (HRFI, low feed efficient line) feed efficiency data. The production traits of each individual animal in response to the optimised diets were simulated with InraPorc® and imported into the individual LCA model to assess global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial acidification potential (AP), freshwater eutrophication potential (EP), and land occupation (LO) of the overall farm feed efficiency approach.Results and discussionIntegrating selection for feed efficiency, nutritional requirements of genetic lines (HRFI and LRFI) and environmental diet optimisation resulted in overall mitigation of environmental impacts. Compared to the conventional diet, the environmental score of the optimised tailored diets was reduced by 5.8% and 5.2% for LRFI and HRFI lines, respectively. At the general production system level, the environmental impacts decreased by an average of 4.2% for LRFI and 3.8% for HRFI lines compared to environmental impacts of the lines fed the conventional diet (P < 0.05). The HRFI line with its optimised tailored diet had fewer impacts than the LRFI line with the conventional diet, except for EP. Individual LCA revealed high correlations between environmental impacts and feed efficiency and protein deposition traits.ConclusionsImplementation of overall farm feed efficiency would effectively mitigate environmental impacts. A holistic economic evaluation of the resulting trade-off between diet costs and pig performances is now needed to design a comprehensive tool to orientate selection and formulation decisions for sustainable pig production systems.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a standardized framework for evaluating the environmental impacts of animal production systems through its four key steps: (1) goal and scope definition, (2) inventory analysis, (3) impact assessment, and (4) interpretation. However, traditional approaches using surveys and experimental data face limitations in capturing complex interactions among biological processes and management practices. This paper reviews how mathematical modeling can enhance LCA methodology for animal production systems, overcoming these constraints and supporting more robust environmental impact assessments. Mathematical models contribute significantly to LCA methodology at multiple scales and stages. At the inventory analysis stage, models predict feed intake, growth, production, and excretion of nutrients in response to animal characteristics and management practices. These range from nutritional metabolic models of average animals to sophisticated individual-based models that account for variability among animals in a herd. A systematic workflow could be followed for developing stochastic, individual-based models that generate comprehensive life cycle inventories through a bottom-up approach. Process-based models also improve emission estimates from animals and manure, progressing from simple Tier 1 default emission factors to complex Tier 3 mechanistic approaches that capture interactions between management practices and environmental factors. However, significant challenges remain in modeling manure emissions due to complex data requirements and microbial dynamics. Beyond inventory development, mathematical modeling enhances LCA's utility for decision support through optimization models that identify mitigation strategies balancing environmental and economic objectives. Individual-based models enable environmental phenotyping for genetic selection by quantifying how individual animal traits affect system-level impacts. These approaches represent promising developments for sustainable livestock production. Mathematical modeling transforms LCA from a descriptive tool to a predictive framework capable of evaluating numerous scenarios across different production contexts. Further development should focus on integrating performance and emission models, implementing optimization approaches for mitigation strategy identification, and expanding applications to regional and national scales to support evidence-based policies.

This paper describes the influence of the choice of the functional unit on the results of an environmental assessment of different battery technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles. Battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles are considered as being environmentally friendly. However, the batteries they use are sometimes said to be environmentally unfriendly. At the current state of technology different battery types can be envisaged: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lithium-ion and sodium-nickel chloride. The environmental impacts described in this paper are based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. One of the first critical stages of LCA is the definition of an appropriate and specific functional unit for electric and hybrid vehicle application. Most of the known LCA studies concerning batteries were performed while choosing different functional units, although this choice can influence the final results. An adequate functional unit, allowing to compare battery technologies in their real life vehicle application should be chosen. The results of the LCA are important as they will be used as a decision support for the end-of-life vehicles directive 2000/53/EC (Official Journal of the European Communities L269/24 2000). As a consequence, a thorough analysis is required to define an appropriate functional unit for the assessment of batteries for electric vehicles. This paper discusses this issue and will mainly focus on traction batteries for electric vehicles. An overview of the different parameters to be considered in the definition of a functional unit to compare battery technologies for battery electric vehicle application is described and discussed. An LCA study is performed for the most relevant potential functional units. SimaPro 6 is used as a software tool and Eco-indicator 99 as an impact assessment method. The influence of the different selected functional units on the results (Eco-indicator Points) is discussed. The environmental impact of the different electric vehicle battery technologies is described. A sensitivity analysis illustrates the robustness of the obtained results. Five main parameters are considered in each investigated functional unit: an equal depth of discharge is assumed, a relative number of batteries required during the life of the vehicle is calculated, the energy losses in the battery and the additional vehicle consumption due to the battery mass is included and the same lifetime distance target is taken into account. On the basis of the energy content, battery mass, number of cycles and vehicle autonomy three suitable functional units are defined: ‘battery packs with an identical mass’, ‘battery packs with an identical energy content’ and ‘battery packs with an identical one-charge range’. The results show that the differences in the results between these three functional units are small and imply less variation on the results than the other uncertainties inherent to LCA studies. On the other hand, the results obtained using other, less adequate, functional units can be quite different. When performing an LCA study, it’s important to choose an appropriate functional unit. Most of the time, this choice is unambiguous. However, sometimes this choice is more complicated when different correlated parameters have to be considered, as it is the case for traction batteries. When using a realistic functional unit, the result is not influenced significantly by the choice of one out of the three suitable functional units. Additionally, the life cycle assessment allowed concluding that three electric vehicle battery technologies have a comparable environmental impact: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride. Lithium-ion and sodium-nickel chloride have lower environmental impacts than the three previously cited technologies when used in a typical battery electric vehicle application. The article describes the need to consider all relevant parameters for the choice of a functional unit for an electric vehicle battery, as this choice can influence the conclusions. A more standardised method to define the functional unit could avoid these differences and could make it possible to compare the results of different traction battery LCA studies more easily.

Agricultural production has a direct impact on the environment, both by consuming natural resources and by generating hazards in the form of emissions of various substances into the environment. Increased demand for plant products on global food markets contributes to heightened environmental pressure on agriculture. Agriculture, along with other sectors, should adhere to sustainability principles. Ongoing global development hinges on achieving a balance between economic growth and natural resource conservation. To fulfill the goals of sustainable development, agriculture should strive to minimize energy and natural resources consumption, thereby reducing its environmental impact. In the above context, research on the environmental effects of different agricultural production systems is needed. The aim of this study was to assess the environmental effects of two cultivation systems, conventional and organic, throughout the life cycles of winter wheat and potato production. The research employed a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology from cradle to farm gate for assessing environmental impacts of crop cultivation across different farming systems, with respect to the functional unit of 1 tonne. Organic farming was shown to have lower environmental impacts than a conventional production system. The results confirm the sustainable nature of organic farming and its ability to mitigate the effects of farming activities. The LCA of conventional wheat and potato production showed that fertilizer application was the main environmental concern, highlighting the need to optimize fertilization to reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, the results indicated that acidification and depletion of abiotic fossil fuel resources were significant environmental threats within the systems analyzed.

Does environmental impact vary widely within the same food category? A case study on industrial pizzas from the French retail market

Pineapple is one of the major commercial fruits grown in Gampaha and Kurunegala districts of Sri Lanka. Most cultivations are under conventional practices which generate significant environmental impacts while there are few organic cultivations (~1%). There is lack of published on the environmental impacts related to cultivation of pineapple in Sri Lanka. This study therefore aimed to quantify and compare environmental impacts of conventionally and organically grown pineapple in Gampaha District. Environmental impacts were compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool which evaluates the potential environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a product or a process. According to ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 guidelines, LCA methodology has four main phases such as goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and life cycle interpretation. The system boundary for the study was from cradle to farm gate. All the environmental impacts were estimated for a functional unit of one tonne of pineapple. Primary data for the LCA was gathered using a pre-tested structured questionnaire conducted among twenty conventional- and six organic farms. Input and output inventories were prepared during LCI phase. Under LCIA phase, impact categories such as global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication, human toxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and freshwater ecotoxicity were considered. Results indicated that conventional cultivation system has significantly higher impacts compared to the organic cultivation system. Global warming potential of conventionally cultivated one tonne of pineapple was 182.23 kg CO2 eq. It was 26.72 kg CO2 eq for organic cultivation indicating 7 times lower impact. Eutrophication potential was 6.63 kg PO43- eq for conventional cultivation while that for organic cultivation was 0.81 kg PO43- eq (8 times lower). Pesticide use has resulted in 2,279.12 kg 1,4 DB eq of human toxicity, 18,331.71 kg 1,4 DB eq of freshwater ecotoxicity and 1,624,494.37 kg 1,4 DB eq terrestrial ecotoxicity for conventional cultivation while organic cultivations have resulted in no toxicity. The results highlight significant contribution of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides towards all five impact categories of the LCA. The results could provide implications for promoting organic cultivation in order to reduce the impacts on the environment in the long run. &#x0D; Keywords: Life cycle assessment, Pineapple, Conventional cultivation, Organic cultivation, Environmental impacts

Norway, like many countries, has realized the need to extensively plan its renewable energy future sooner rather than later. Combined heat and power (CHP) through gasification of forest residues is one technology that is expected to aid Norway in achieving a desired doubling of bioenergy production by 2020. To assess the environmental impacts to determine the most suitable CHP size, we performed a unit process-based attributional life cycle assessment (LCA), in which we compared three scales of CHP over ten environmental impact categories—micro (0.1 megawatts electricity [MWe]), small (1 MWe), and medium (50 MWe) scale. The functional units used were 1 megajoule (MJ) of electricity and 1 MJ of district heating delivered to the end user (two functional units), and therefore, the environmental impacts from distribution of electricity and hot water to the consumer were also considered. This study focuses on a regional perspective situated in middle-Norway's Nord- and Sør-Trøndelag counties. Overall, the unit-based environmental impacts between the scales of CHP were quite mixed and within the same magnitude. The results indicated that energy distribution from CHP plant to end user creates from less than 1% to nearly 90% of the total system impacts, depending on impact category and energy product. Also, an optimal small-scale CHP plant may be the best environmental option. The CHP systems had a global warming potential ranging from 2.4 to 2.8 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of thermal (g CO2-eq/MJth) district heating and from 8.8 to 10.5 grams carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of electricity (g CO2-eq/MJel) to the end user. Supporting Information S1: This supplement contains further details on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the assumptions used for the case system, along with tables of the foreground life cycle inventories, contribution analysis for each product (1 megajoule &lsqb;MJ&rsqb; electricity and 1 MJ district heating to end user) for each impact category, and total environmental impacts at the combined heat and power plant (1 MJ useful energy at the plant). Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.