Environmental Impact and Nutritional Improvement of Elevated CO2 Treatment: A Case Study of Spinach Production

Abstract

Abstract:The agriculture sector is known to be the one of the major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, global climate changes have affected the agriculture sector. In order to strengthen the sustainable development of agriculture, it is important to promote environmentally friendly farming and simultaneously increase the economic value. To improve the productivity of agriculture, technical advancements have occurred. Among those, we have focused on CO 2 treatment in cultivation. We aimed to clarify the effectiveness of the elevated CO 2 treatment of spinach based on GHG emission and the economic value using the eco-efficiency score. We assumed that nutrition could represent the value of the vegetable. We measured weights, vitamin C, and CO 2 emissions of elevated CO 2 treatment and conventional production. We used life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate CO 2 emissions. CO 2 emissions of a 100-g bouquet of spinach were estimated from agricultural inputs, farming, transport, and distribution center processes at a model spinach farm in Japan. CO 2 emission of elevated CO 2 treatment was 29.0 g-CO 2 , and was 49.0 g-CO 2 for conventional production. The net weight of a bouquet of elevated CO 2 -treated spinach was 1.69-fold greater than that of conventional production. Vitamin C per 100 g spinach produced via elevated CO 2 treatment was 15.1 mg, and that of conventional production was 13.5 mg on average. Finally, based on the above results, we assessed the eco-efficiency scores of the elevated CO 2 treatment and conventional production of spinach, enabling integration of the nutritional value and the environmental impact. The score showed that elevated CO 2 treatment (0.76) was 2.9-fold more efficient than conventional production (0.26). This study suggested that elevated CO 2 treatment could enhance growth and nutritional value of spinach, and further contribute to CO 2 reduction.

Life Cycle Assessment of Spinach Produced in Central and Southern Italy

“…The main reason for the difference in impact scores is the direct emission of N 2 O greenhouse gas (GHGs) from the use of inorganic fertilizer in the integrated farming system. Seo et al [29], reported GWP values of 0.49 kgCO 2 eq./kg for integrated system and 0.29 kgCO 2 /kg spinach for eCO 2 system which are higher values obtained in this present study. Theurl et al [50] also reported similar range values of 0.094 and 0.115 kg CO 2 eq./kg fresh organic spinach under a polytunnel cultivation system, which is consistent with values obtained in this study.…”

“…In Japan, Shiina et al [28] evaluated spinach production under a hybrid protective system where they reported its global warming potential (GWP) to be 2.3 kg CO 2 eq./kg spinach. In addition, Seo et al [29] reported 0.49 kgCO 2 eq. and 0.29 kgCO 2 /kg spinach for production under an integrated system and elevated CO 2 treatment production system, respectively.…”

“…However, some of these studies relied on extrapolated secondary data from different regions or countries [30,31]. In contrast, others relied on primary data from pilot studies [28,29], which does not represent a realistic spinach production system.…”

Assessing the Impact of GDP, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Value Added, and Livestock Production Index on CO2 Emissions in the Philippines

“…The agriculture sector is known to be one of the major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (Seo et al, 2017). As the livestock production index is interconnected with animal agriculture, it is vital to investigate this as well.…”

“…Along with numerous other studies, they also figured out that the agricultural sector was one of the highest contributors to the continuous changes in CO2 emissions in a certain country. (Seo et al, 2017)…”