Understanding Environmental Impacts and Trade-Offs of Irrigation in Horticulture Crop Production in Türkiye using a Multi-Indicator Life Cycle Assessment
摘要
Agriculture is the largest user of water in Türkiye, accounting for 75% of total consumption. The use of freshwater for irrigation has significant environmental consequences that must be considered in the sustainability analysis of crop production. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used for this purpose to comprehensively account for freshwater use related environmental impacts from a life-cycle perspective as well as to evaluate the trade-offs and synergies between water and other agricultural practices in crop production. This study is the first of its kind to examine a multitude of environmental impacts on several irrigated perennial crops cultivated in Türkiye. A streamlined LCA and multi-indicator model were used to assess the magnitude of environmental impacts and to quantify the impact of water consumption and irrigation on crop life cycle performance. Citrus, lemon, peach, apple, cherry, persimmon, kiwi, and pomegranate were analyzed. The results were analyzed at the midpoint, endpoint, and single score levels to provide a holistic picture of the sustainability of each crop. The life cycle water consumption varied greatly, ranging from 4,121 to 13,562 m3/ha, or from 189 to 705 m3/ton, with energy for irrigation water supply being more important than crop water use. According to the single score LCA results, the water consumption potential indicator accounts for 41% (range 35–51%), while irrigation as a process account for 37% (range 17–85%) of the total environmental impact. According to the findings, the majority of water consumption and environmental impacts are caused by emissions and resource use (electricity and fertilizer production) prior to crop cultivation, i.e., background subsystem. This study confirms the complex relationship between water and energy in irrigated agricultural production in Türkiye, with both direct and indirect environmental consequences. Water conservation, along with electricity and fertilizer resource efficiency, needs to be prioritized to reduce crop production's energy consumption and environmental impact.