A life cycle assessment of non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with blueberry and raspberry production in northern Italy. 2013

Vincenzo Girgenti, and Cristiana Peano, and Michele Bounous, and Claudio Baudino
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy. vincenzo.girgenti@unito.it

This study examined the emissions produced during the pre-farm, farm and post-farm phases of the production cycle of raspberries and giant American whortleberries (blueberries) cultivated in one of the best-adapted areas in northern Italy. The pre-farm phase included the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of plants in the nursery and the transportation of the plants to the production farms. The farm phase involved the emissions of greenhouse gases from chemical products, the water used for irrigation, the generation of waste, and the consumption of electricity and other energy. The post-farm phase comprised the transportation of the products to the distribution centre (DC) and their storage in the DC. The use phase is not included in the system, nor is transportation from the supermarket to the home of the final consumer, but the disposal of the packaging is nevertheless taken into account. Indeed, the use of traditional plastic materials during both the field phase (nursery and cultivation) and the post-harvesting phase (packaging) produced the greatest estimated impact.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007220 Industrial Waste Worthless, damaged, defective, superfluous or effluent material from industrial operations. Waste, Industrial,Industrial Wastes,Wastes, Industrial
D007558 Italy A country in southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The capital is Rome. Sardinia
D002245 Carbon Dioxide A colorless, odorless gas that can be formed by the body and is necessary for the respiration cycle of plants and animals. Carbonic Anhydride,Anhydride, Carbonic,Dioxide, Carbon
D003247 Conservation of Natural Resources The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment. Carrying Capacity,Deforestation,Desertification,Environmental Protection,Natural Resources Conservation,Protection, Environmental,Capacities, Carrying,Capacity, Carrying,Carrying Capacities,Conservation, Natural Resources
D004777 Environment The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population. Environmental Impact,Environmental Impacts,Impact, Environmental,Impacts, Environmental,Environments
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D000383 Agriculture The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock. Agronomy,Agricultural Development,Farming,Agronomies,Development, Agricultural
D000393 Air Pollutants Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or materials. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS. Air Pollutant,Air Pollutants, Environmental,Environmental Air Pollutants,Environmental Pollutants, Air,Air Environmental Pollutants,Pollutant, Air,Pollutants, Air,Pollutants, Air Environmental,Pollutants, Environmental Air
D017752 Greenhouse Effect The effect of GREENHOUSE GASES and the resulting increase in world temperatures. The predicted health effects of such long-term climatic change include increased incidence of respiratory, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases. Effect, Greenhouse
D029798 Blueberry Plants Several species of the genus Vaccinium which produce the edible blueberry fruit. Blueberry Plant,Blueberries,Blueberry,Vaccinium angustifolium,Vaccinium ashei,Vaccinium corymbosum,Vaccinium uliginosum,Vaccinium virgatum,Plant, Blueberry,Plants, Blueberry

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