Ecological Indicators (Oct 2023)
Environmental impact of organic and conventional wine grape production, a case study from Wuwei wine region, Gansu Province, China
Abstract
The City of Wuwei was the first place in Gansu province to cultivate grapes for wine production and is representative of wine grape growing in arid areas across China. In the interest of advancing green agricultural development and in order to cope with a changing climate, viticulture in China is experiencing a shift towards greener production methods. In order to do this, a better understanding of the environmental impacts associated with production at the farm level is needed. This study assessed three different wine grape production chains (one organic and two conventional) using life cycle assessment (LCA) in the Wuwei wine region of Gansu Province. Results show that non-renewable energy (NR) consumption is higher at the pre-farm stage compared to on-farm consumption. In addition, nitrogen fertilizer (N) and electricity production, account for 32.5% and 30% respectively in conventional production, whilst in organic farming, electricity generation and pesticide production account for 62% and 22% respectively. Pre-farm activities were found to have a higher impact on global warming potential (GWP) than on-farm operations. The average contribution of N and electricity production was 36% and 32% respectively in conventional production during the pre-farm stage, while in organic farming, the contribution of electricity generation dominated at 68%. Organic fertilizer, N and electricity production are the major contributors to acidification potential (AP) and pesticide production contributes the most to eutrophication potential (EP) in the pre-farm phase·NH3 and NO3--N emissions are dominant contributors to on-farm AP and EP respectively. N2O, NH3, and NO3--N emissions are the top 3 contributors to GWP, AP and EP in the on-farm stage are mainly caused by overuse of N. In general, organic production has a lower environmental impact index than conventional farming. Options for minimizing environmental burdens include: the use of biotic materials in vineyard infrastructure; soil testing-based fertilization; deficit irrigation, policy innovation and strengthening the enabling environment for laws and regulations.
