Integration of life cycle assessment and Cobb-Douglas modeling for the environmental assessment of kiwifruit in Iran

This paper aimed at evaluating the environmental impacts of kiwifruit production in Guilan province of Iran using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and Cobb-Douglas (CD) modeling. For this purpose, a functional unit (FU) equal to one tonne kiwifruit was applied based on ISO 14,040 methods. Data were obtained from 84 kiwifruit producers using a questionnaire during 2012–2013. Seven impact categories were selected to be evaluated using the life cycle of kiwifruit in the region. The results of data analysis revealed that the amounts of emissions, including NH3, N2O, NOx, CO2, CH4 and SO2, for one tonne production of kiwifruit were 2.00, 0.34, 0.30, 45.08, 0.06 and 0.15, respectively. Characterization indices included global warming potential, acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, land use, the depletion of fossil resources, the depletion of phosphate, and the depletion of potash were calculated as 152.18 kg CO2eq, 3.53 kg SO2eq, 9.15 kg NOxeq, 0.32 ha, 531.23 MJ, 2.57 kg P2O5 and 0.83 kg K2O, respectively. Indicators for environmental index (Eco-indeX) and resource depletion (RDI) were 0.35 and 0.45, respectively. High potentials for environmental impacts due to depletion of phosphate resources and eutrophication in the RDI and Eco-indeX Indicators were found. The results of LCA + CD showed that the impacts of inputs, including diesel fuel, phosphate and potash fertilizers on the yield of kiwifruit were positive, while the impacts of urea fertilizer on the yield was negative. To conclude, due to the high environmental impacts of urea fertilizer and its negative effect on kiwifruit yield, it is recommended to replace urea with other sources of nitrogen fertilizer which have lower environmental impacts.

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