Department of Electrical Engineering, Escuela Politécnica Superior, University of Jaén, 23700, Linares, Spain.
Departamento de Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Paraje las lagunillas s/n, 23071, Jaén, Spain.
J Environ Manage. 2021 Sep 1;293:112951. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112951. Epub 2021 Jun 4.
Olive oil production shapes the socio-economic and environmental life of many areas of the Mediterranean basin, especially southern Spain, the highest olive oil-producing region worldwide. Olive grove cultivation is tending to intensify from traditional low-density to intensive and high-density cropping systems, which might result in higher environmental impacts. The aim of this study is to estimate the environmental impacts, carbon (C) footprint and carbon balance of producing virgin origin olive oil in Spain from four traditional rainfed, four irrigated, and three intensive olive farms, including the processing phase. Environmental impacts of producing 1 kg of unpacked virgin olive oil at the farm and industrial phases were quantified with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool and a "cradle-to-gate" approach using data from surveys at these farms and 12 olive oil mills. On average, the farming phase accounted for 76.3% of the EIs. Therefore, to reduce the impact of the virgin olive oils production, most of the efforts should be made especially in the farming phase. Despite the high variability between seasons and between independent replicates of the same farming system, intensive farming had significant higher impacts on most environmental impact categories than traditional rainfed farming, mainly due to the application of nitrogen fertilizer, plant protection products and herbicides. In terms of climate change, the environmental impact of the functional unit is in the ranges of 1.80-2.41, 1.59-2.78 and 2.28-3.26 kg of CO eq. for traditional rainfed, irrigated and intensive, respectively. C footprint was negative and averaged -5.5, -4.3 and -2.7 kg CO eq. Olive groves are efficient atmospheric CO sinks mainly by fixing CO into permanent and non-permanent trees structures. The lower intensification of the traditional rainfed groves contributed more in mitigating the increase of atmospheric CO. Finally, the C footprint and C balance are negative, especially in traditional irrigated and intensive farming. The application of organic sources of fertilizer and the implementation of temporary spontaneous cover crops, both technically and economically feasible, are sound strategies to achieve a positive carbon balance and reduce the impacts of olive cultivation.
橄榄油生产塑造了地中海盆地许多地区的社会经济和环境生活，特别是西班牙南部，是全球橄榄油产量最高的地区。橄榄树种植正趋向于从传统的低密度种植向集约化和高密度种植系统转变，这可能导致更高的环境影响。本研究的目的是估计西班牙四种传统雨养、四种灌溉和三种集约化橄榄农场生产初榨橄榄油的环境影响、碳足迹和碳平衡，包括加工阶段。使用生命周期评估 (LCA) 工具和“摇篮到大门”方法，从这些农场和 12 个橄榄油厂的调查中获取数据，量化了每公斤未包装初榨橄榄油在农场和工业阶段的环境影响。平均而言，农业阶段占 EI 的 76.3%。因此，为了降低初榨橄榄油生产的影响，应主要在农业阶段做出最大努力。尽管季节之间和同一农业系统的独立重复之间存在高度的可变性，但集约化农业对大多数环境影响类别产生的影响明显高于传统雨养农业，主要是由于氮肥、植保产品和除草剂的应用。就气候变化而言，功能单位的环境影响范围分别为传统雨养、灌溉和集约化橄榄种植的 1.80-2.41、1.59-2.78 和 2.28-3.26kg CO eq.。碳足迹为负值，平均为-5.5、-4.3 和-2.7kg CO eq.。橄榄树主要通过将 CO 固定到永久性和非永久性树木结构中，成为高效的大气 CO 汇。传统雨养橄榄林的较低集约化程度有助于减缓大气 CO 的增加。最后，碳足迹和碳平衡为负值，特别是在传统灌溉和集约化农业中。施用有机肥料源和实施临时自然覆盖作物，在技术和经济上都是可行的，是实现正碳平衡和减少橄榄种植影响的合理策略。
