Life Cycle Assessment of Oilseed Canola Production in Iranian Agriculture.

The objectives of this study are to assess the environmental impacts of oilseed canola production using cradle-to-farm-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) and to find some solutions to reduce environmental impacts of crop production. Data were taken from 150 canola farms from Mazandaran province, the main center of canola production in Iran. The functional unit was considered as one ton of canola grain. The LCA results indicated that global warming potential was 1181.6 kg CO2eq per ton of produced canola. Also, acidification and eutrophication per ton of canola grain were found to be 23.3 kg SO2 eq and 18.0 kg PO4 3- eq, respectively. Emissions due to production and application of chemical fertilizers especially urea had a pivotal effect on environmental burdens. It is concluded that, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, especially N fertilizer, is important for decreasing the environmental footprints in the area