Comparative life cycle assessment in the wine sector: biodynamic vs. conventional viticulture activities in NW Spain

Villanueva-Rey, Pedro; Vázquez‐Rowe, Ian; Moreira, Marı́a Teresa; Feijoo, Gumersindo

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.08.026

Cited by 164 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The absolute sequestration rate was on average very low when compared to other organic systems studied, except treenuts, due to low rates of pruning mulching and particularly of cover crop cultivation, which are the lowest of all organic groups (29 %). The average net global warming potential of 158 g CO 2 e/ kg of conventional grapes is in the lower range of the published values analyzed by Rugani et al (2013) and also lower than those calculated by Villanueva-Rey et al (2013) for conventional grape production in NW Spain. These differences are probably caused by the low input use in the studied systems.…”

Section: Vineyardscontrasting

confidence: 56%

Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. II. Fruit tree orchards

Aguilera

Guzmán

Alonso

2014

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

141

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Fruit tree orchards have a historical and economic importance for Mediterranean agriculture, notably in Spain. Fruit tree orchards have the potential to mitigate global warming by sequestrating carbon (C) and providing renewable fuels. Actually, there is few information on the benefits of organic practices. Therefore, we analyzed the greenhouse gas contribution of 42 pairs of organic and conventional perennial cropping systems, including citrus, subtropical trees, other fruit trees, treenuts, vineyards, and olives, using life-cycle assessment (LCA). The assessment was based on management information from interviews and involved the estimation of soil carbon sequestration, specific Mediterranean N 2 O emission factors, and the consideration of coproducts. Results show on average a 56 % decrease of greenhouse gas emissions under organic versus conventional cropping, on an area basis. On a product basis, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 39 % on average. These findings are explained mainly by C sequestration in soils, which is due in turn to higher C inputs by cover cropping and incorporation of pruning residues.

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Section: Vineyardscontrasting

confidence: 56%

Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. II. Fruit tree orchards

Aguilera

Guzmán

Alonso

2014

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

141

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“…The first discriminating factor seems to be the agricultural practices. Cultivation systems alternative to the conventional system, such as the organic or biodynamic, can reduce significantly (up to 50%) the environmental impacts of the viticulture [45] because such practices avoid using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. On the contrary, with the application of organic fertilizer, the soil structure improves and closes the organic matter cycle [40].…”

Section: Viticulturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the LCA of agricultural systems, the evaluation of the changes in soil carbon stocks is an important factor that can affect the results; some studies carefully modeled this aspect [45].…”

Section: Viticulturementioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment Application to the Wine Sector: A Critical Review

Ferrara

Feo

2018

Sustainability

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool that allows evaluation of the environmental performances of a product, service or process considering the whole life cycle or a part of it. In the wine sector, the application of LCA has grown significantly in recent years and several studies have been carried out about this topic that are similar to other research fields. Nowadays, LCA is an important and acknowledged environmental assessment tool but its application to the wine sector is still in a developing phase. For this reason, the present study proposes a critical review of papers dealing with both the wine sector and LCA. The critical review points out that the main wine hotspots are the viticulture phase (mainly due to fuel, fertilizer and pesticides consumption) and the wine primary packaging production (due to glass bottles). Furthermore, the papers taken into consideration have a wide variability in the system boundaries definition as well as a shortage of availability of original and site-specific inventory data. Such key factors are sensitive aspects that have a huge influence on the results of a study and they are also affected by a wide variability: these issues need further scientific contribution through future studies.

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“…Currently, viticulture is gradually shifting to more sustainable production patterns [33], with an increase of 230% of organic vineyards in Europe between 2007 and 2011 [34]. A number of studies have been carried out comparing different types of viticulture techniques (i.e., organic, biodynamic, and conventional) in order to assess their environmental impacts through the life assessment approach [25,34,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rugani et al (2013) [25] carried out an extensive review on product carbon footprint (PCF) analyses of wine production, and observed methodological and conceptual limits and challenges behind wine PCF, but pointed out that indicating wine PCF may provide large benefits both to winemakers and consumers. Villanueva-Rey et al (2014) [35] performed a comparative LCA in biodynamic and conventional viticulture activities in North-western Spain and concluded that biodynamic production implies the lowest environmental burdens, while the highest environmental impacts were linked to conventional agricultural practices, mainly due to an 80% decrease in diesel inputs related to lower pesticide and fertilisers application and the introduction of manual work rather than mechanised activities in the vineyards. Rouault et al (2016) [34] compared organic and integrated viticultural technical management routes using LCA techniques, with the result that the studied organic route had higher impact scores than the integrated for all the chosen impact categories except eutrophication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment of Two Vineyards after the Application of Precision Viticulture Techniques: A Case Study

et al. 2017

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Precision viticulture is the application of site-specific techniques to vineyard production to improve grape quality and yield and minimize the negative effects on the environment. While there are various studies on the inherent spatial and temporal variability of vineyards, the assessment of the environmental impact of variable rate applications has attracted limited attention. In this study, two vineyards planted with different grapevine cultivars (Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah) were examined for four consecutive growing seasons (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016). The first year, the two vineyards were only studied in terms of soil properties and crop characteristics, which resulted in the delineation of two distinct management zones for each field. For the following three years, variable rate nutrient application was applied to each management zone based on leaf canopy reflectance, where variable rate irrigation was based on soil moisture sensors, meteorological data, evapotranspiration calculation, and leaf canopy reflectance. Life cycle assessment was carried out to identify the effect of variable rate applications on vineyard agro-ecosystems. The results of variable rate nutrients and water application in the selected management zones as an average value of three growing seasons were compared to the conventional practice. It was found that the reduction of product carbon footprint (PCF) of grapes in Sauvignon Blanc between the two periods was 25% in total. Fertilizer production and distribution (direct) and application (indirect) was the most important sector of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, accounting for 17.2%, and the within-farm energy use was the second ranked sector with 8.8% (crop residue management increase GHG emissions by 1.1%, while 0.1% GHG reduction is obtained by pesticide use). For the Syrah vineyard, where the production was less intensive, precision viticulture led to a PCF reduction of 28.3% compared to conventional production. Fertilizers contributed to this decrease by 27.6%, while within-farm energy use had an impact of 2.2% that was positive even though irrigation was increased, due to yield rise. Our results suggest that nutrient status management offers the greatest potential for reducing GHG emissions in both vineyard types. Variable rate irrigation also showed differences in comparison to conventional treatment, but to a lesser degree than variable rate fertilization. This difference between conventional practices and precision viticulture is noteworthy, and shows the potential of precision techniques to reduce the effect of viticulture on GHG emissions.

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Comparative life cycle assessment in the wine sector: biodynamic vs. conventional viticulture activities in NW Spain

Cited by 164 publications

References 55 publications

Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. II. Fruit tree orchards

Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. II. Fruit tree orchards

Life Cycle Assessment Application to the Wine Sector: A Critical Review

Life Cycle Assessment of Two Vineyards after the Application of Precision Viticulture Techniques: A Case Study

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