Life cycle assessment of the environmental performance of conventional and organic methods of open field pepper cultivation

Open field pepper cultivation is widely practiced in Mediterranean countries, and provides staple crops that support the local economy. This paper uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental performance of conventional and organic cultivation of open field pepper crops. Results are presented for problem-oriented (midpoint) and damage-oriented (endpoint) approaches, using ReCiPe impact assessment. At midpoint level, conventional cultivation exhibited about three-fold higher environmental impact on freshwater eutrophication than organic cultivation owing to the extensive use of nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers, with consequent direct emissions to the environment. The remaining impact categories were mainly affected by irrigation, with associated indirect emissions linked to electricity production. At endpoint level, the main hotspots identified for conventional cultivation were irrigation and fertilizing due to intensive use of chemical fertilizers and (to a lesser degree) pesticides. For organic pepper cultivation, the main impact factors were irrigation, machinery use, and manure loading and spreading processes. Of these, the highest score for irrigation derived from heavy electricity consumption required for ground water pumping associated with the fossil-fuel-dependent Greek electricity mix. In terms of aggregated impact, conventional cultivation achieved slightly better overall environmental performance than organic pepper cultivation, due to the higher crop yield.