Life cycle assessment of potential environmental burden and human capital loss caused by apple production system in China

As one of the representative fruits of China, apple plays an important role in the overall agricultural production system. However, the large amount of chemical inputs in apple production has potential detrimental impacts on the environment and human health, and thus threatens the achievement of sustainable development goals. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental burden (EB) and human capital (refer to human lives) loss (HCL) caused by apple production system (APS) is urgently needed to suggest directions for improvement. A method widely used to measure impacts from both the use of resources and the emissions generated in the agriculture sector is the life cycle assessment (LCA). In this study, the EB and HCL caused by the APS have been determined from two phases using the LCA methodology in China. The results show that the leading cause of EB in the agricultural materials' production phase is nitrogen fertilizer (N) production, and in the farming phase is chemical fertilizer use. The top 5 major pollutants that cause potential damage to human health in APS are carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (N2O), nitrate (NO3), and sulfur oxides (SOx). The human health risk (HHR) is 5.84 x 10(-2) disability-adjusted life year to cultivate 1 ha of the apple orchard 1 year, and the corresponding HCL is about 4230 Chinese yuan (CNY). Under the scenario analysis of a 15% reduction in chemical fertilizer use and a 20% increase in organic fertilizer (mainly dried sheep dung) use, most of the environmental impact categories have a decreasing trend, and the HCL decreased by 438 CNY of 10.36%. Therefore, chemical fertilizer (especially N) is the most critical environmental hotspot in APS, and our results suggest that the replacement of chemical fertilizers by organic fertilizers is an effective solution to reduce the potential EB and HCL and improve the sustainability of the APS.

Automated summary

As one of China's representative fruits, apple has a significant role in agricultural production. However, the excessive use of chemicals in apple production poses threats to the environment and human health, hindering sustainable development. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental burden and human capital loss caused by apple production is necessary to suggest improvements. The study utilized life cycle assessment (LCA) to measure the impacts of resource use and emissions in the agriculture sector. The results revealed that nitrogen fertilizer production and chemical fertilizer use are the main contributors to environmental burden. The top five pollutants causing potential harm to human health are carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, nitrate, and sulfur oxides. The study also found that a reduction in chemical fertilizer use and an increase in organic fertilizer resulted in decreased environmental impact and human capital loss, suggesting the effectiveness of replacing chemical fertilizers with organic alternatives in improving the sustainability of apple production.