Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Horticulture Crop Production

The presentation will start by presenting a few LCA applications in the field of horticulture, identifying several challenges we face to assess in a life cycle perspective the environmental impact of horticulture production on human health and ecosystems, i.e: What are the main impact associated with product produced in heated greenhouses or transported over long distances? What are the impacts of fertilizer solution leaching and/or recirculation? How to account for the pesticide residues in the food products? So far most LCIA methods for human toxicity have used steady state modelling only considering the diffuse impacts of chemicals such as pesticides. Humbert et al. (2007) have shown that pesticide residues in treated crops often dominate the life cycle impacts of pesticides on human health. Charles (2004) and Juraske et al. (2007, 2009) have opened prospects in the evaluation and quantification of xenobiotics in food by developing a time dynamic plant model for wheat and for horticultural crops. Their work shows that: a) accounting for impacts of pesticide products sprayed directly on the plant is crucial since these are generally rapidly absorbed, so that initial concentration in the plant may reach high levels b) Variation in pesticide characteristics and time of application, clarifies that the fraction of pesticide at harvest varies by 5 orders of magnitude between substances. c) A dynamic model is essential since the time elapsed between spraying and harvest is a key parameter. The presentation will end by discussing the potential and limitations of the application of life cycle impact assessment to horticulture crops
 [40 mins]