Rapeseed for energy production: environmental impacts and cultivation methods

This study involves an environmental impact analysis of rapeseed production in Italy to identify the highest and lowest impact of the method of cultivation. The environmental analysis included five farming units, which were extracted from a sample of 251 rapeseed farm units (2751 ha) using cluster analysis. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, we evaluated the environmental performance of the five units, showing how the cultivation practises and the type/quantity of input can cause environmental impact. Practises of intensive farming with high fertilization and mechanization (machinery and fertilizers production and application) are responsible for the greatest environmental impact. When the level of productivity is low, the impact is still higher. The most damaged environmental category is “human health”, even if the impact on “ecosystem” and “resource depletion” is critical. The potential feasibility to integrate economic cost with the environmental results was just approached.