Caridad Rosique Jiménez

This study establishes a warehouse model specific to the handling and packaging of fresh lemons in southeast Spain (Fino and Verna, both conventional and organic) into two types of packaging (mesh and corrugated box) and carries out an economic and environmental evaluation using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The boundary of the assessment is the warehouse gate, not considering the following phases (distribution and consumption). The warehouse model is based on data from on-site surveys in four medium-sized companies representative of the studied area. The results of this production phase are analyzed, as well as the aggregates of the whole production chain, from cultivation to the dispatching of packaged products at the gate of the warehouse. Production costs between 0.450 €·kg⁻¹ and 0.545 €·kg⁻¹, with organic options being generally more expensive, although it is the packaging that accounts for the biggest differences. The cost in the aggregate production chain shows a wider range, from 0.73 €·kg⁻¹ to 0.99 €·kg⁻¹. In terms of employment, the production chain generates 0.58 agricultural work unit (AWU)·ha⁻¹. The environmental results of the production chain show that the warehouse phase (handling and packaging) has a significant environmental impact. The handling stage shows little variation between lemon varieties or types of management, in contrast to the cultivation phase, where significant differences are observed. In comparative terms, in the production chain: conventional management has a greater environmental impact than organic management in most categories. The Verna variety has a greater impact than Fino and corrugated box packaging is systematically more impactful than mesh. Fresh lemons from southeast Spain have a low global warming impact (0.096–0.152 kg CO₂ eq·kg lemon⁻¹) compared to the literature, mainly due to the low impact during the cultivation phase.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to identify the potential environmental impact of dredged sediments used as growing media for food crops. The dredged sediments used came from Livorno port and were previously phytoremediated. For the assay, strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch vr. ‘San Andreas’) were used. The plants were cultivated on three different substrates (100% peat, 100% dredged sediment and 50% mix peat/sediment) to identify the real impact of the culture media on the growing process. LCA was calculated and analyzed according to ISO 14040:2006 by SimaPro software. ReCipe Midpoint (E) V1.13/Europe Recipe E method was applied. One kilogram of produced strawberry, for each crop media tested, was defined as the functional unit. Eighteen impact categories were selected where Marine Eutrophication (ME), Human Toxicity (HT) and Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FET) were identified as relevant impact categories. The LCA results showed an increase in the environmental impact of strawberry cultivation using 100% sediment against 100% peat, due to the decrease in fruit production caused by the sediment. Nevertheless, the decrease in the environmental impact and the fruit production increase identified when the sediment is used mixed (<50%) with other substrates. The appropriate use of these substrates would be justified within the context of the circular economy.

Equations were developed through multiple regression analysis (MRA) to explain the variability of potential environmental impacts (PEIs) estimated by life cycle assessment (LCA). The case studied refers to the production of seabass in basic offshore fish farms. Contribution analysis showed that the components of the system which most influence the potential environmental impacts are the feed (54% of the overall impact) and the fuel consumed by vessels operating in the farm (23%). Feed and fuel varied widely from one fish farm to another due to different factors, such as the efficiency of the feeding system used in each of them, or the distance from the harbor to the farm. Therefore, a number of scenarios (13) were simulated with different values of both factors and the results of the PEI were fitted by MRA to the model: PEI = a + b × Feed + c × Fuel. For all the PEIs, the regression coefficients were significant (p < 0.05) and R² was 1. These equations allow us to estimate simply and quickly very different scenarios that reflect the reality of different farms at the present time, but also future scenarios based on the implementation of technologies that will decrease both feed and fuel consumption.

Life cycle assessment is used in this study to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of producing gilthead seabream in an offshore sea farm exposed to storms in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea. The farming methods used can be considered as “basic” since no centralized or automatic food distribution system exists and there is no control system. This study aims to identify the main hotspots under these conditions and to propose and compare viable alternatives to them. Contribution analysis found that the component of the system with the greatest potential environmental impact (48% of the overall impact) was fish feed, especially the raw material used. Other contributory factors were the fuel consumed by the vessels operating in the farm (35%), the dumping of N and P in the environment due to the metabolism of the fish (12%), the cages and their anchorage system (5%). A sensitivity analysis showed that a significant reduction in potential environmental impact can be achieved by increasing feeding efficiency. Feed formulation in raw materials is also an important factor and could serve to diminish overall adverse effects. A balance needs to be found between productive performance (growth, survival and feed conversion rate), feed price and its influence on production costs and the overall environmental consequences.