4. Discussion
4.1. Comparative analysis of oil seed crop
The comparative analysis from the LCA of sunflower, soybean, and canola per impact category are shown in Table 2. According to the results reported in the table 2, soybean was the oil seed with the the best environmental profile regardless the impact category. In contrast, sunflower was the oil seed crop with worst environmental results in almost all the categories. Environmental results were same pattern for the three crops, but sunflower has a higher impact in 5 out of the 6 impact categories.
The better result for soybean was associated with the higher seed yield produced in comparison to the other oil seed crop and the low requirements of agricultural inputs. On the one hand, the …show more content…
The electricity production, manure and mineral fertilizers are the agricultural input with the highest environmental impact for oil seed crops. It can be noted that indirect effects associated with these inputs are related to producing and processing and had higher impacts than those of direct effects. The amount and type of applied fertilizers and electricity are strongly associated to the impacts of oil seed production, especially in the case of sunflower. It is also important to highlight that natural gas is a main energy source to supply electricity in Iran. In the Ardabil region the most of farmers use the traditional methods (e.g. flood irrigation) that require more water than other irrigation …show more content…
Although the higher yield provided the most remarkable improvement for diminishing environmental impacts in all categories, increase energy and water use efficiency, reduction and optimization of manufactured fertilizer, and reduced agricultural operations are also expected to reduce the environmental impacts.
It is worth mentioning that present study cannot provide a comprehensive evaluation of the all environmental impacts related with three oil seed crops in Iran. The primary goal of the present study was to specify the best and most environmentally friendly crop among the three oil seed crop in terms of their potential environmental impact. Undertaking additional measures is necessary, especially a wide range of impact categories, to be necessary for the exploration of more hotspots and brings further environmental criteria to the decision-making process, such as the influence of pesticide
4.1. Comparative analysis of oil seed crop
The comparative analysis from the LCA of sunflower, soybean, and canola per impact category are shown in Table 2. According to the results reported in the table 2, soybean was the oil seed with the the best environmental profile regardless the impact category. In contrast, sunflower was the oil seed crop with worst environmental results in almost all the categories. Environmental results were same pattern for the three crops, but sunflower has a higher impact in 5 out of the 6 impact categories.
The better result for soybean was associated with the higher seed yield produced in comparison to the other oil seed crop and the low requirements of agricultural inputs. On the one hand, the …show more content…
The electricity production, manure and mineral fertilizers are the agricultural input with the highest environmental impact for oil seed crops. It can be noted that indirect effects associated with these inputs are related to producing and processing and had higher impacts than those of direct effects. The amount and type of applied fertilizers and electricity are strongly associated to the impacts of oil seed production, especially in the case of sunflower. It is also important to highlight that natural gas is a main energy source to supply electricity in Iran. In the Ardabil region the most of farmers use the traditional methods (e.g. flood irrigation) that require more water than other irrigation …show more content…
Although the higher yield provided the most remarkable improvement for diminishing environmental impacts in all categories, increase energy and water use efficiency, reduction and optimization of manufactured fertilizer, and reduced agricultural operations are also expected to reduce the environmental impacts.
It is worth mentioning that present study cannot provide a comprehensive evaluation of the all environmental impacts related with three oil seed crops in Iran. The primary goal of the present study was to specify the best and most environmentally friendly crop among the three oil seed crop in terms of their potential environmental impact. Undertaking additional measures is necessary, especially a wide range of impact categories, to be necessary for the exploration of more hotspots and brings further environmental criteria to the decision-making process, such as the influence of pesticide