On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.

CABOT, M.I. - LADO, J. - BAUTISTA, I. - RIBAL, J. - SANJUÁN, N.

Resumen:

Purpose: Mandarin is a relevant citrus crop in Uruguay both in terms of yield and area. This study is aimed at assessing the environmental impacts of mandarin cultivation in the country to identify the environmental hotspots. Temporal variability is assessed by considering six harvest seasons and site specificity by developing a regionalized inventory using a Tier 3 to estimate nitrogen on-field emissions. Also, the effect of regionalizing specific impact categories is analyzed. Methods: A cradle-to-farm gate assessment was carried out based on mass and area functional units. Primary data was gathered from a representative orchard of the region for the seasons 2016 to 2022. Nitrogen on-field emissions were modeled using LEACHN, a Tier 3 model that considers site-specific climatic and soil parameters as well as water and fertilizer applications at a daily scale. In addition, other modeling approaches were tested following the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), World Food LCA Database guidelines (WFLDB), and the updated IPCC and EMEP/EEA guidelines. The EN 15804 + A2 standard was followed to assess the environmental impacts, except for the categories concerning acidification, where IMPACT 2002 + v2.1 was used. In addition, to analyze the variations in the results when regionalizing impacts of on-field emissions, IMPACT World + was used. Results: The main hotspots detected are on-field emissions, machinery operations, pesticides, and fertilizer production. Irrigation is the main hotspot in blue water scarcity. As for the models tested to estimate nitrogen emissions, significant differences were detected in marine eutrophication between LEACHN and WFLDB, regardless of the functional unit, and in terrestrial acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, and aquatic acidification per ha between LEACHN and PEF. Significant reductions in the results were observed by regionalizing the environmental impacts caused by the on-field emissions. Conclusions: The development of site-specific inventories and impact assessment methods with spatial resolution is encouraged, although more research is needed to draw general conclusions about the convenience of mechanistic models to estimate nitrogen emissions in Uruguayan citriculture. The high variation coefficients obtained reaffirm the importance of considering temporal variability. Moreover, the relevance of considering different functional units is highlighted since different influencing variables are observed throughout the seasons depending on the functional unit used. © 2023, The Author(s).

Detalles Bibliográficos
2023
Life cycle assessment
Citrus fruit
On-field emissions modeling
Inter-seasonal variability
Environmental impacts
Regionalized impacts
Inglés
Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria
AINFO
https://ainfo.inia.uy/consulta/busca?b=pc&id=64250&biblioteca=vazio&busca=64250&qFacets=64250
Acceso abierto
_version_ 1856772334790115328
author CABOT, M.I.
author2 LADO, J.
BAUTISTA, I.
RIBAL, J.
SANJUÁN, N.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet CABOT, M.I.
LADO, J.
BAUTISTA, I.
RIBAL, J.
SANJUÁN, N.
author_role author
bitstream.checksum.fl_str_mv 1ba60693a82baaea0c594eb4eefd3530
bitstream.checksumAlgorithm.fl_str_mv MD5
bitstream.url.fl_str_mv https://redi.anii.org.uy/jspui/bitstream/20.500.12381/4496/1/sword-2025-06-23T15%3a32%3a53.original.xml
collection AINFO
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv CABOT, M.I.
LADO, J.
BAUTISTA, I.
RIBAL, J.
SANJUÁN, N.
dc.date.accessioned.none.fl_str_mv 2025-06-23T18:32:53Z
dc.date.available.none.fl_str_mv 2025-06-23T18:32:53Z
dc.date.issued.none.fl_str_mv 2023
dc.date.updated.none.fl_str_mv 2025-06-23T18:32:53Z
dc.description.abstract.none.fl_txt_mv Purpose: Mandarin is a relevant citrus crop in Uruguay both in terms of yield and area. This study is aimed at assessing the environmental impacts of mandarin cultivation in the country to identify the environmental hotspots. Temporal variability is assessed by considering six harvest seasons and site specificity by developing a regionalized inventory using a Tier 3 to estimate nitrogen on-field emissions. Also, the effect of regionalizing specific impact categories is analyzed. Methods: A cradle-to-farm gate assessment was carried out based on mass and area functional units. Primary data was gathered from a representative orchard of the region for the seasons 2016 to 2022. Nitrogen on-field emissions were modeled using LEACHN, a Tier 3 model that considers site-specific climatic and soil parameters as well as water and fertilizer applications at a daily scale. In addition, other modeling approaches were tested following the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), World Food LCA Database guidelines (WFLDB), and the updated IPCC and EMEP/EEA guidelines. The EN 15804 + A2 standard was followed to assess the environmental impacts, except for the categories concerning acidification, where IMPACT 2002 + v2.1 was used. In addition, to analyze the variations in the results when regionalizing impacts of on-field emissions, IMPACT World + was used. Results: The main hotspots detected are on-field emissions, machinery operations, pesticides, and fertilizer production. Irrigation is the main hotspot in blue water scarcity. As for the models tested to estimate nitrogen emissions, significant differences were detected in marine eutrophication between LEACHN and WFLDB, regardless of the functional unit, and in terrestrial acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, and aquatic acidification per ha between LEACHN and PEF. Significant reductions in the results were observed by regionalizing the environmental impacts caused by the on-field emissions. Conclusions: The development of site-specific inventories and impact assessment methods with spatial resolution is encouraged, although more research is needed to draw general conclusions about the convenience of mechanistic models to estimate nitrogen emissions in Uruguayan citriculture. The high variation coefficients obtained reaffirm the importance of considering temporal variability. Moreover, the relevance of considering different functional units is highlighted since different influencing variables are observed throughout the seasons depending on the functional unit used. © 2023, The Author(s).
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://ainfo.inia.uy/consulta/busca?b=pc&id=64250&biblioteca=vazio&busca=64250&qFacets=64250
dc.language.iso.none.fl_str_mv en
eng
dc.rights.es.fl_str_mv Acceso abierto
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:AINFO
instname:Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria
instacron:Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Life cycle assessment
Citrus fruit
On-field emissions modeling
Inter-seasonal variability
Environmental impacts
Regionalized impacts
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
PublishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.version.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
description Purpose: Mandarin is a relevant citrus crop in Uruguay both in terms of yield and area. This study is aimed at assessing the environmental impacts of mandarin cultivation in the country to identify the environmental hotspots. Temporal variability is assessed by considering six harvest seasons and site specificity by developing a regionalized inventory using a Tier 3 to estimate nitrogen on-field emissions. Also, the effect of regionalizing specific impact categories is analyzed. Methods: A cradle-to-farm gate assessment was carried out based on mass and area functional units. Primary data was gathered from a representative orchard of the region for the seasons 2016 to 2022. Nitrogen on-field emissions were modeled using LEACHN, a Tier 3 model that considers site-specific climatic and soil parameters as well as water and fertilizer applications at a daily scale. In addition, other modeling approaches were tested following the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), World Food LCA Database guidelines (WFLDB), and the updated IPCC and EMEP/EEA guidelines. The EN 15804 + A2 standard was followed to assess the environmental impacts, except for the categories concerning acidification, where IMPACT 2002 + v2.1 was used. In addition, to analyze the variations in the results when regionalizing impacts of on-field emissions, IMPACT World + was used. Results: The main hotspots detected are on-field emissions, machinery operations, pesticides, and fertilizer production. Irrigation is the main hotspot in blue water scarcity. As for the models tested to estimate nitrogen emissions, significant differences were detected in marine eutrophication between LEACHN and WFLDB, regardless of the functional unit, and in terrestrial acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, and aquatic acidification per ha between LEACHN and PEF. Significant reductions in the results were observed by regionalizing the environmental impacts caused by the on-field emissions. Conclusions: The development of site-specific inventories and impact assessment methods with spatial resolution is encouraged, although more research is needed to draw general conclusions about the convenience of mechanistic models to estimate nitrogen emissions in Uruguayan citriculture. The high variation coefficients obtained reaffirm the importance of considering temporal variability. Moreover, the relevance of considering different functional units is highlighted since different influencing variables are observed throughout the seasons depending on the functional unit used. © 2023, The Author(s).
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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repository.name.fl_str_mv AINFO - Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria
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rights_invalid_str_mv Acceso abierto
spelling 2025-06-23T18:32:53Z2025-06-23T18:32:53Z20232025-06-23T18:32:53Zhttps://ainfo.inia.uy/consulta/busca?b=pc&id=64250&biblioteca=vazio&busca=64250&qFacets=64250Purpose: Mandarin is a relevant citrus crop in Uruguay both in terms of yield and area. This study is aimed at assessing the environmental impacts of mandarin cultivation in the country to identify the environmental hotspots. Temporal variability is assessed by considering six harvest seasons and site specificity by developing a regionalized inventory using a Tier 3 to estimate nitrogen on-field emissions. Also, the effect of regionalizing specific impact categories is analyzed. Methods: A cradle-to-farm gate assessment was carried out based on mass and area functional units. Primary data was gathered from a representative orchard of the region for the seasons 2016 to 2022. Nitrogen on-field emissions were modeled using LEACHN, a Tier 3 model that considers site-specific climatic and soil parameters as well as water and fertilizer applications at a daily scale. In addition, other modeling approaches were tested following the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), World Food LCA Database guidelines (WFLDB), and the updated IPCC and EMEP/EEA guidelines. The EN 15804 + A2 standard was followed to assess the environmental impacts, except for the categories concerning acidification, where IMPACT 2002 + v2.1 was used. In addition, to analyze the variations in the results when regionalizing impacts of on-field emissions, IMPACT World + was used. Results: The main hotspots detected are on-field emissions, machinery operations, pesticides, and fertilizer production. Irrigation is the main hotspot in blue water scarcity. As for the models tested to estimate nitrogen emissions, significant differences were detected in marine eutrophication between LEACHN and WFLDB, regardless of the functional unit, and in terrestrial acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, and aquatic acidification per ha between LEACHN and PEF. Significant reductions in the results were observed by regionalizing the environmental impacts caused by the on-field emissions. Conclusions: The development of site-specific inventories and impact assessment methods with spatial resolution is encouraged, although more research is needed to draw general conclusions about the convenience of mechanistic models to estimate nitrogen emissions in Uruguayan citriculture. The high variation coefficients obtained reaffirm the importance of considering temporal variability. Moreover, the relevance of considering different functional units is highlighted since different influencing variables are observed throughout the seasons depending on the functional unit used. © 2023, The Author(s).https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12381/4496enenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessAcceso abiertoLife cycle assessmentCitrus fruitOn-field emissions modelingInter-seasonal variabilityEnvironmental impactsRegionalized impactsOn the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.ArticlePublishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionreponame:AINFOinstname:Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuariainstacron:Instituto Nacional de Investigación AgropecuariaCABOT, M.I.LADO, J.BAUTISTA, I.RIBAL, J.SANJUÁN, N.SWORDsword-2025-06-23T15:32:53.original.xmlOriginal SWORD entry documentapplication/octet-stream3900https://redi.anii.org.uy/jspui/bitstream/20.500.12381/4496/1/sword-2025-06-23T15%3a32%3a53.original.xml1ba60693a82baaea0c594eb4eefd3530MD5120.500.12381/44962026-02-10 15:53:58.397oai:redi.anii.org.uy:20.500.12381/4496Institucionalhttps://ainfo.inia.uy/Organismo científico-tecnológicohttp://inia.uyhttps://redi.anii.org.uy/oai/requestlorrego@inia.org.uyUruguayopendoar:2026-02-10T18:53:58AINFO - Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuariafalse
spellingShingle On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
CABOT, M.I.
Life cycle assessment
Citrus fruit
On-field emissions modeling
Inter-seasonal variability
Environmental impacts
Regionalized impacts
status_str publishedVersion
title On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
title_full On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
title_fullStr On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
title_full_unstemmed On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
title_short On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
title_sort On the relevance of site specificity and temporal variability in agricultural LCA: a case study on mandarin in North Uruguay.
topic Life cycle assessment
Citrus fruit
On-field emissions modeling
Inter-seasonal variability
Environmental impacts
Regionalized impacts
url https://ainfo.inia.uy/consulta/busca?b=pc&id=64250&biblioteca=vazio&busca=64250&qFacets=64250