CIHEAM - Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Vie Ceglie 9, Valenzano, BA, Italy.
CIHEAM - Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Vie Ceglie 9, Valenzano, BA, Italy.
J Environ Manage. 2016 Jan 1;165:62-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.011. Epub 2015 Sep 26.
This study presents a methodological framework for the meso-level eco-efficiency assessment of agricultural water systems using a life-cycle system-based approach. The methodology was applied to the Sinistra Ofanto irrigation scheme, located in Southern Italy, where about 28,165 ha are under irrigation. The environmental performance of the system was evaluated through a set of selected mid-point environmental impact categories while the economic performance was measured using the total value added to the system's final products due to water use and the adopted management practices. Both economic performance and environmental performance were measured at different stages and for each stakeholder in the value chain. A distinction was made between foreground and background systems referring, respectively, to the processes that occurred inside the water system boundaries and those used for the production of supplementary resources. The analysis revealed that the major environmental burdens are: i) the freshwater resource depletion (i.e. excessive groundwater pumping), ii) climate change (i.e. direct emissions due to fertilizer use and diesel combustion), and iii) eutrophication (as a result of excessive application of N and P fertilizers). A considerable impact was observed on the background system where energy, fuel and agrochemicals were produced thereby confirming the prominent role of background processes in the comprehensive eco-efficiency assessment. The presented methodology aimed at the quantitative assessment of the eco-efficiency level rather than at the identification of the most affected environmental category. Hence, the results can be used to compare the performance of the system from one year to the next, among different stakeholders (water users) and/or to assess the impact of adopting innovative technologies and management practices. Moreover, the presented approach is useful for comparing the performance among different agricultural water systems and also in respect to other meso-level water systems in a cross-sectorial analysis.
本研究提出了一种基于生命周期系统方法的中观生态效率评估方法，用于评估农业水系统。该方法应用于位于意大利南部的 Sinistra Ofanto 灌溉系统，该系统约有 28165 公顷土地用于灌溉。通过一组选定的中点环境影响类别评估系统的环境绩效，同时使用由于水的使用和采用的管理实践而导致系统最终产品的增加值来衡量经济绩效。经济绩效和环境绩效均在价值链的不同阶段和每个利益相关者进行衡量。根据参考的分别是在水系统边界内发生的过程和用于生产补充资源的过程，区分了前景点和背景系统。分析表明，主要的环境负担是：i）淡水资源枯竭（即过度抽取地下水），ii）气候变化（即由于肥料使用和柴油燃烧导致的直接排放），iii）富营养化（由于过量施用 N 和 P 肥料）。在生产能源、燃料和农用化学品的背景系统中观察到相当大的影响，从而证实了背景过程在综合生态效率评估中的突出作用。所提出的方法旨在定量评估生态效率水平，而不是确定受影响最严重的环境类别。因此，这些结果可用于比较系统在不同年份、不同利益相关者（用水户）之间的绩效，或评估采用创新技术和管理实践的影响。此外，所提出的方法有助于比较不同农业水系统之间的绩效，也有助于在跨部门分析中比较其他中观水系统之间的绩效。
