RT Journal Article
T1 A comprehensive environmental analysis of olive oil production in Apulia, Italy
A1 Di Loreto, Maria Vittoria
A1 Lago Olveira, Sara
A1 Di Noia, Nicola
A1 Vollero, Luca
A1 Pennazza, Giorgio
A1 Santonico, Marco
A1 González García, Sara
K1 Life Cycle Assessment
K1 Extra Virgin Olive Oil production
K1 Biodiversity Loss
K1 Soil-based Ecosystem Services
AB The increasing demand for Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and the need for sustainable agricultural practices underscore the importance of assessing the environmental impacts of its production. This study evaluates the environmental burdens of EVOO production in the Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT) province of Apulia, Italy, using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Additionally, this study examines the effect on biodiversity loss and soil-based ecosystem services to provide a comprehensive environmental analysis. Six scenarios were analysed. Agricultural activities—particularly excessive fertiliser use (up to 77.10 kg N·ha⁻¹) and diesel consumption during harvesting (up to 7761 kg·ha⁻¹)—emerged as the primary contributors to environmental burdens. Scenarios utilising by-products, such as vegetation water, showed lower impacts in categories like global warming terrestrial and freshwater eutrophication. Biodiversity loss, quantified using the Potentially Disappeared Fraction, was mainly driven by land transformation rather than land use, with scenario A1 showing the highest impact (around 3.25·10−11 PDF*year). Regarding soil-based ecosystem services, all scenarios exhibited similar performance in soil erosion control (55.33 t soil), with minor variations in carbon sequestration (4.82–5.40 t C·ha⁻¹) due to differences in biomass pruning. Water purification potential varied significantly, with N losses ranging from 1.01 to 131.46 kg N, depending on the fertilisation regime. These results highlight the urgent need for sustainable agricultural practices and circular economy strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance ecosystem services. Optimising fertilisation strategies and adopting alternative harvesting methods could significantly reduce environmental burdens while maintaining productivity and profitability.
PB Elsevier
SN 0960-3085
YR 2025
FD 2025-03-31
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44291
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44291
LA eng
NO Food and Bioproducts Processing Volume 151, May 2025, Pages 242-257
NO This research has been partially supported by the project TED2021–130309B-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU/ PRTR and by the project “Sustainable management of water resources in irrigated agriculture in the SUDOE area (I-ReWater-S1/2.5/E0136)”, co-funded by the programme INTERREG SUDOE. S. Lago-Olveira and S. González-García belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2021/37) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431G 2023/12).
DS Minerva
RD 3 may 2026