Type: Book
Instant Insights: Life cycle assessment (LCA) of crops
Author
Dimensions:
229x152mm6x9"
Publication date:
14 September 2021Length of book:
140 pagesISBN-13: 9781801462150
Request PermissionsDescription
This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on life cycle assessment (LCA) of crops.
The first chapter discusses the application of LCA to agricultural systems and highlights key issues associated with its implementation, including delimitation of systems boundaries, defining the functional unit, handling coproduction, and the choosing of impact assessment methods.
The second chapter explores the concepts of LCA and the coffee value chain. The chapter discusses how carbon footprint performances can be used to upgrade coffee value chains.
The third chapter assesses the environmental impact of oil palm production during cultivation and as a result of land use change for new plantations. The chapter describes the principles and modelling steps of LCA, as well as the challenges ahead regarding further development and application.
The fourth chapter reviews the core principles of LCA methodology, the state of the art of LCA for fruits and associated key challenges. The first complete LCA case study for export mango is also discussed.
The final chapter assesses the environmental impact of banana production and highlights the importance of LCA in influencing the adoption of practices that can reduce or offset the carbon footprint of the banana value chain.
Table of contents
Chapter 1 - Life cycle assessment methodology for agriculture: some considerations for best practices: Seyyed Hassan Pishgar-Komleh, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, Poland and Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic; Paria Sefeedpari, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, Poland; Nathan Pelletier, University of British Columbia, Canada; and Miguel Brandão, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; 1 Introduction 2 Identifying a functional unit 3 Unit processes as the building blocks of LCI 4 Categories of environmental pressures and impacts 5 Conclusion and future trends 6 Abbreviations 7 Where to look for further information 8 References
Chapter 2 - Life cycle analysis and the carbon footprint of coffee value chains: Louis Bockel and Laure-Sophie Schiettecatte, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Italy; 1 Introduction 2 Life cycle analysis 3 Valuing coffee quality and sustainability 4 Coffee value chain carbon footprint performance 5 Using carbon footprint performances to upgrade coffee value chains 6 Case study: green coffee in Haiti 7 Carbon footprint and green labelling 8 Conclusion 9 Where to look for further information 10 References
Chapter 3 - Life cycle assessments of oil palm products: Cécile Bessou, CIRAD, France; Heinz Stichnothe, Thünen Institute of Agricultural Technology, Germany; Amir F. N. Abdul-Manan, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia; and Shabbir Gheewala, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand; 1 Introduction 2 LCA principles and methodology 3 Results of LCA applied to oil palm products 4 Challenges in building LCA of oil palm products 5 Oil palm LCA improvement tracks 6 Conclusion 7 Where to look for further information 8 References
Chapter 4 - Life cycle assessment of mango systems: Claudine Basset-Mens, Sandra Payen, Henri Vannière, Angela Braun and Yannick Biard, CIRAD, France; 1 Introduction 2 Life cycle assessment 3 LCA of fruits 4 LCA case study: exports of mango from the Rio São Francisco Valley in Brazil 5 Environmental challenges 6 Future trends and conclusion 7 Where to look for further information 8 References
Chapter 5 - Life cycle assessment and carbon footprint of banana cultivation: Louis Bockel, Laure-Sophie Schiettecatte and Orane Debrune, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Italy; 1 Introduction 2 Assessing the environmental impact of banana production 3 An integrated socio-economic carbon footprint banana value chain tool 4 Future trends and conclusion 5 Where to look for further information 6 Abbreviations 7 References