Abstract
Nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) is widely cultivated in Mexico as a food raw material. However, the environmental impact caused by the growth and harvesting life cycle of this feedstock has been poorly studied. In this study, the environmental consequences of the growing, harvesting and transportation processes of nopal were evaluated with the aid of a life cycle assessment (LCA) method using SimaPro software version 8.5.2. The results showed that global warming (83.13%) and ozone depletion (99.25%) were significantly affected by the cultivation process due to current fertilization methods. The number of estimated gasses and chemicals emitted like ammonium (18.88 kgNH3/ha/year), nitrogen oxides (35.32 kgNOX–NO2/ha/year) and nitrous oxide (28.57 kgN2O/ha/year) were believed to be the result of the chemical fertilizers employed. The current cultivation process additionally reported emissions of nitrate (886.48 kgNO3/ha/year) and phosphorus (0.041 kg P/ha/year) caused by soil water erosion. The transportation process reported low levels of environmental impact; however, a significant amount of acidification (88.54%), mineral depletion (80.95%) and water consumption (84.06%) resulted from the process utilized to produce nopal in brine. In summary, the entire process resulted in a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 0.562 kg/CO2 eq.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
Data will become available on request.
References
Alvarado-Raya, H. E., Salinas-Callejas, E., & Ortiz-Huerta, G. (2016). Peso fresco y calidad de nopalito (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) fertilizado con composta de estiércol de vaca. TECNOCIENCIA Chihuahua, 10(1), 13–22. http://tecnociencia.uach.mx/numeros/v10n1/Data/Peso_fresco_y_calidad_de_nopalito_Opuntia_ficus_indica_fertilizado_con_composta_de_estiercol_de_vaca.pdf.
Asare-Nuamah, P., & Botchway, E. (2019). Comparing smallholder farmers’ climate change perception with climate data: the case of Adansi North District of Ghana. Heliyon, 5(12), e03065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03065
Baarsch, F., Granadillos, J. R., Hare, W., Knaus, M., Krapp, M., Schaeffer, M., & Lotze-Campen, H. (2020). The impact of climate change on incomes and convergence in Africa. World Development, 126, 104699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104699
Bartzas, G., Vamvuka, D., & Komnitsas, K. (2017). Comparative life cycle assessment of pistachio, almond and apple production. Information Processing in Agriculture, 4(3), 188–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2017.04.001
Blanco-Macías, F., Valdez-Cepeda, R. D., & Ruiz-Garduño, R. R. (2002). Intensive production of cactus pearitos under plastic tunnels. Acta Horticulturae, 581, 279–282. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.581.32
Bleninger, T., & Jirka, G. (2010). Environmental planning, prediction and management of brine discharges from desalination plants. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.470.6450&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Carslaw, D. C., Farren, N. J., Vaughan, A. R., Drysdale, W. S., Young, S., & Lee, J. D. (2019). The diminishing importance of nitrogen dioxide emissions from road vehicle exhaust. Atmospheric Environment: X, 1, 100002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2018.100002
Chalise, S., Naranpanawa, A., Bandara, J. S., & Sarker, T. (2017). A general equilibrium assessment of climate change–induced loss of agricultural productivity in Nepal. Economic Modelling, 62, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2017.01.014
Clune, S., Crossin, E., & Verghese, K. (2017). Systematic review of greenhouse gas emissions for different fresh food categories. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 766–783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.082
Cucurachi, S., Scherer, L., Guinée, J., & Tukker, A. (2019). Life cycle assessment of food systems. One Earth, 1(3), 292–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.10.014
Curran, M. A. (2012). Life cycle assessment handbook. In M. A. Curran (Ed.), Life Cycle assessment handbook: A guide for environmentally sustainable products.Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118528372
Cushman, J. C., Davis, S. C., Yang, X., & Borland, A. M. (2015). Development and use of bioenergy feedstocks for semi-arid and arid lands. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(14), 4177–4193. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erv087
Dekker, E., Zijp, M. C., van de Kamp, M. E., Temme, E. H. M., & van Zelm, R. (2019). A taste of the new ReCiPe for life cycle assessment: consequences of the updated impact assessment method on food product LCAs. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2019, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-019-01653-3
Duman, A. K., Özgen, G. Ö., & Üçtuğ, F. G. (2020). Environmental life cycle assessment of olive pomace utilization in Turkey. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 22, 126–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.02.008
EEA. (2019). EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020 from https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/emep-eea-guidebook-2019
Elena, T. C. M., Emilio, E. G. P., Horacio, A. R., Edmar, S. C., & Silvia, G. V. (2014). Regional development model based on organic production of nopal. Modern Economy, 05(03), 239–249. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2014.53025
Falco, C., Galeotti, M., & Olper, A. (2019). Climate change and migration: Is agriculture the main channel? Global Environmental Change, 59, 101995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101995
Fallahpour, F., Aminghafouri, A., Ghalegolab Behbahani, A., & Bannayan, M. (2012). The environmental impact assessment of wheat and barley production by using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 14(6), 979–992. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9367-3
FAO. (2020). Agriculture: cause and victim of water pollution, but change is possible. http://www.fao.org/land-water/news/news-details/es/c/1032702/
Feldman, A. J. L., & Cortés, D. H. (2016). Cambio climático y agricultura: Una revisión de la literatura con énfasis en América Latina. In Trimestre Economico (Vol. 83, No. 332, pp. 459–496). Fondo de Cultura Economica. https://doi.org/10.20430/ete.v83i332.231
Feng, J., Zhang, Y., Song, W., Deng, W., Zhu, M., Fang, Z., Ye, Y., Fang, H., Wu, Z., Lowther, S., Jones, K. C., & Wang, X. (2020). Emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from liquefied petroleum gas-fueled taxis under idle and cruising modes. Environmental Pollution, 267(2020), 115623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115623
Flores, C. (2001). Producción, industrialización y comercialización de nopalitos. Universidad Autónoma Chapingo.
Flores, C. (2003). Nopalitos y Tunas: Producción, comercialización, poscosecha e industrialización. Universidad Autónoma Chapingo.
Galicia-Villanueva, S., Escamilla-García, P. E., Alvarado-Raya, H., Aquino-González, L. V., Serna-Álvarez, H., & Hernández-Cruz, L. M. (2017). Plantación experimental de nopal para evaluación de sistemas de fertilización y extracción de mucílago. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas, 8(5), 1087. https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v8i5.110
Han, S. H., An, J. Y., Hwang, J., Kim, S. B., & Park, B. B. (2016). The effects of organic manure and chemical fertilizer on the growth and nutrient concentrations of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera Lin.) in a nursery system. Forest Science and Technology, 12(3), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/21580103.2015.1135827
Inglese, Paolo, Mondragon, C., Nefzaoui, A., & Sáenz, C. (2018). Ecologia del cultivo, manejo y usos del nopal. In Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura y el Centro Internacional de Investigaciones Agrícolas en Zonas Áridas Roma. FAO.
IPCC. (2014a). Climate change 2014 synthesis report. In Kristin Seyboth (USA). Gian-Kasper Plattner. http://www.ipcc.ch.
IPCC. (2014b). Summary for policymakers. In Climate change 2013—The physical science basis (pp. 1–30). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
ISO. (2006). ISO 14040:2006—Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework. https://www.iso.org/standard/37456.html
Lin, W., Lin, M., Zhou, H., Wu, H., Li, Z., & Lin, W. (2019). The effects of chemical and organic fertilizer usage on rhizosphere soil in tea orchards. PLoS ONE, 14(5), e0217018. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217018
Longo, S., Mistretta, M., Guarino, F., & Cellura, M. (2017). Life cycle assessment of organic and conventional apple supply chains in the North of Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140(2), 654–663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.049
Mondragon, C., & Mendez S. (2018). Producción y utilización de nopalitos. In P. Inglese, C. Mondragon, A. Nefzaoui, & C. Saenz (Eds.) Ecología del cultivo, manejo y usos del nopal. FAO. http://www.fao.org/3/i7628es/I7628ES.pdf
Møller, H., Moset, V., Brask, M., Weisbjerg, M., & Lund, P. (2014). Feces composition and manure derived methane yield from dairy cows: Influence of diet with focus on fat supplement and roughage type. Atmospheric Environment, 94, 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.05.009
Nemecek, T., & Kägi, T. (2007). Life cycle inventories of agricultural production systems data v2.0 (2007). http://www.art.admin.ch
Nicholson, R. J., Webb, J., & Moore, A. (2002). A review of the environmental effects of different livestock manure storage systems, and a suggested procedure for assigning environmental ratings. In Biosystems engineering (Vol. 81, No. 4, pp. 363–377). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1006/bioe.2002.0045
Nordelöf, A., Messagie, M., Tillman, A. M., Ljunggren Söderman, M., & Van Mierlo, J. (2014). Environmental impacts of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles—what can we learn from life cycle assessment? International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 19(11), 1866–1890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-014-0788-0
Pongracz, E. (2007). The environmental impacts of packaging. In M. Kutz (Ed.), Environmentally conscious materials and chemicals processing. (pp. 237–278). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470168219.ch9
Rahman, K. M. A., & Zhang, D. (2018). Effects of fertilizer broadcasting on the excessive use of inorganic fertilizers and environmental sustainability. Sustainability, 10(3), 759. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030759
Ramírez-Arpide, F. R., Demirer, G. N., Gallegos-Vázquez, C., Hernández-Eugenio, G., Santoyo-Cortés, V. H., & Espinosa-Solares, T. (2018). Life cycle assessment of biogas production through anaerobic co-digestion of nopal cladodes and dairy cow manure. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 2313–2322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.180
Recanati, F., Arrigoni, A., Scaccabarozzi, G., Marveggio, D., Melià, P., & Dotelli, G. (2018). LCA towards sustainable agriculture: the case study of Cupuaçu Jam from agroforestry. Procedia CIRP, 69, 557–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2017.11.003
Rodriguez, C. (1996). Fertilizers and environment. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1586-2
Sáenz, C., Horst, B., Armida, R.-F., Ljubica, G., Joel, C., Elena, S., María, V., Víctor, G., Roberto, C., Enrique, A., Candelario, M., Inocencio, H., & Cadmo, R. (2013). Agro-industrial utilization of cactus pear. FAO.
SAGARPA. (2016). Feasibility study for the establishment of nopal (opuntia) cultivation on idle land in the states of Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato and Zacatecas for food, energy and environmental purposes. https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/346982/Nopal_Detallado.pdf
Saha, A., Basak, B. B., Gajbhiye, N. A., Kalariya, K. A., & Manivel, P. (2019). Sustainable fertilization through co-application of biochar and chemical fertilizers improves yield, quality of Andrographis paniculata and soil health. Industrial Crops and Products, 140, 111607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111607
Santos, M., Barba de la Rosa, A., Héliès-Toussaint, C., Guéraud, F., & Nègre-Salvayre, A. (2017). Opuntia spp.: Characterization and benefits in chronic diseases. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2017, 8634249. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8634249
Saptutyningsih, E., Diswandi, D., & Jaung, W. (2019). Does social capital matter in climate change adaptation? A lesson from agricultural sector in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Land Use Policy, 95, 104189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104189
Savci, S. (2012). Investigation of effect of chemical fertilizers on environment. APCBEE Procedia, 1, 287–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcbee.2012.03.047
Schmidt Rivera, X. C., Espinoza Orias, N., & Azapagic, A. (2014). Life cycle environmental impacts of convenience food: Comparison of ready and home-made meals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 73, 294–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.008
SEMARNAT. (2020). Sistema Nacional de Indicadores Ambientales. Retrieved January 10, 2020 from https://www.gob.mx/semarnat/acciones-y-programas/sistema-nacional-de-informacion-ambiental-y-de-recursos-naturales#:~:text=SISTEMA%20NACIONAL%20DE%20INDICADORES%20AMBIENTALES%20%2D%20SNIA&text=Tiene%20como%20principal%20objetivo%20brindar,institucionales%20que%20atienden%20su%20problem%C3%A1tica.
Shen, G., Hays, M. D., Smith, K. R., Williams, C., Faircloth, J. W., & Jetter, J. J. (2018). Evaluating the performance of household liquefied petroleum gas cookstoves. Environmental Science and Technology, 52(2), 904–915. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05155
Skiba, U. M., & Rees, R. M. (2014). Nitrous oxide, climate change and agriculture. In CAB reviews: Perspectives in agriculture, veterinary science, nutrition and natural resources (Vol. 9). CABI International. https://doi.org/10.1079/PAVSNNR20149010
Stavropoulos, P., Giannoulis, C., Papacharalampopoulos, A., Foteinopoulos, P., & Chryssolouris, G. (2016). Life cycle analysis: Comparison between different methods and optimization challenges. Procedia CIRP, 41, 626–631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2015.12.048
Sun, Q., Miao, C., Hanel, M., Borthwick, A. G. L., Duan, Q., Ji, D., & Li, H. (2019). Global heat stress on health, wildfires, and agricultural crops under different levels of climate warming. Environment International, 128, 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.025
T&E. (2018). CO2 Emissions from cars: The facts. https://www.transportenvironment.org
Tavera-Cortés, M. E., Escamilla-García, P. E., & Pérez-Soto, F. (2018). Impacts on productivity through sustainable fertilization of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) CROPS USING ORGANIC COMPOSt. Journal of Agricultural Science, 10(4), 297. https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v10n4p297
Tsangas, M., Gavriel, I., Doula, M., Xeni, F., & Zorpas, A. A. (2020). Life cycle analysis in the framework of agricultural strategic development planning in the Balkan region. Sustainability, 12(5), 1813. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051813
UNDP. (2016). Sustainable development goals—17 goals to transform the world. Retrieved July 5, 2019 from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html
Weidema, B., Bauer, C., Hischier, R., Mutel, C., Nemecek, T., Reinhard, V., & Wernet, G. (2013). Overview and methodology: Data quality guideline for the ecoinvent database version 3. Retrieved July 29, 2020 from https://www.ecoinvent.org/files/dataqualityguideline_ecoinvent_3_20130506.pdf
Yin, H., Zhao, W., Li, T., Cheng, X., & Liu, Q. (2018). Balancing straw returning and chemical fertilizers in China: Role of straw nutrient resources. In Renewable and sustainable energy reviews (Vol. 81, pp. 2695–2702). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.076
Yusuf, A. A., & Inambao, F. L. (2019). Effect of cold start emissions from gasoline-fueled engines of light-duty vehicles at low and high ambient temperatures: Recent trends. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 14, 100417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2019.100417
Zhai, Y., Zhao, X., Teng, Y., Li, X., Zhang, J., Wu, J., & Zuo, R. (2017). Groundwater nitrate pollution and human health risk assessment by using HHRA model in an agricultural area, NE China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 137(2017), 130–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.11.010
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Guillermo Alexis Vergel-Rangel was involved in methodology, investigation and validation. Pablo Emilio Escamilla-García was involved in conceptualization, writing—original draft and project administration. Raúl Horacio Camarillo-López was involved in writing—review and editing and formal analysis. Jair Azael Esquivel-Guzmán was involved in resources, writing—review and editing. Francisco Pérez-Soto was involved in investigation.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix A: Main characteristics of Regosol soil in Milpa Alta, Mexico City
Appendix A: Main characteristics of Regosol soil in Milpa Alta, Mexico City
General data of the soil in Milpa Alta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General soil | Dominant soil | Associated soils and inclusions | ||||||
Sequence | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Share in Soil Mapping Unit (%) | 55 | 30 | 10 | 5 | ||||
Database ID | 19,616 | 19,617 | 19,618 | 19,619 | ||||
Soil unit symbol (FAO 74) | – | – | – | – | ||||
Soil unit name (FAO74) | – | – | – | – | ||||
Soil unit symbol (FAO 85) | – | – | – | – | ||||
Soil unit name (FAO 85) | – | – | – | – | ||||
Soil unit symbol (FAO 90) | RGe | PHh | RGe | ANu | ||||
Soil unit name (FAO 90) | Eutric Regosols | Haplic Phaeozems | Eutric Regosols | Umbric Andosols | ||||
Soil texture | Coarse | Fine | Coarse | Medium | ||||
Ref. floor depth (cm) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | ||||
AWC (mm) | 100 | 150 | 100 | 150 | ||||
General data of surface soil (0–30 cm) in Milpa Alta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Surface soil (0–30 cm) | Dominant soil | Associated soils and inclusions | ||||||
Sand fraction in soil (%) | 73 | 25 | 73 | 50 | ||||
Silt fraction in soil (%) | 23 | 35 | 23 | 42 | ||||
Clay fraction in soil (%) | 4 | 40 | 4 | 8 | ||||
USDA classification of soil texture | Sandy loam | Clay (light) | Sandy loam | Loam | ||||
Apparent density of the reference soil (kg/dm3) | 1,7 | 1,27 | 1,7 | 1,56 | ||||
Soil apparent density (kg/dm3) | 1,52 | 1,18 | 1,52 | 1,41 | ||||
Gravel content in soil (%) | 19 | 4 | 19 | 10 | ||||
Soil organic carbon (% weight) | 0,41 | 2,74 | 0,41 | 4,19 | ||||
Soil pH (H2O) | 6 | 6,4 | 6 | 6,4 | ||||
Topsoil CEC (clay) (cmol/kg) | 140 | 21 | 140 | 140 | ||||
Topsoil CEC (soil) (cmol/kg) | 14 | 18 | 14 | 38 | ||||
Soil base saturation (%) | 80 | 90 | 80 | 80 | ||||
Topsoil TEB (cmol/kg) | 11,2 | 16,2 | 11,2 | 30,4 | ||||
Soil calcium carbonate (% weight) | 0 | 0,2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Soil gypsum (% weight) | 0 | 0,1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Soil sodium (ESP) (%) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||
Soil salinity (ECe) (dS/m) | 0 | 0,1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
General data of surface soil (30–100 cm) in Milpa Alta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Surface soil (30–100 cm) | Dominant soil | Associated soils and inclusions | ||||||
Sand fraction in soil (%) | 73 | 21 | 73 | 51 | ||||
Silt fraction in soil (%) | 23 | 29 | 23 | 46 | ||||
Clay fraction in soil (%) | 4 | 50 | 4 | 3 | ||||
USDA classification of soil texture | Sandy loam | Clay (light) | Sandy loam | Sandy loam | ||||
Apparent density of the reference soil (kg/dm3) | 1,7 | 1,23 | 1,7 | 1,7 | ||||
Soil apparent density (kg/dm3) | 1,53 | 1,12 | 1,53 | 1,47 | ||||
Gravel content in soil (%) | 19 | 4 | 19 | 10 | ||||
Soil organic carbon (% weight) | 0,15 | 1,42 | 0,15 | 2,3 | ||||
Soil pH (H2O) | 6,4 | 6,2 | 6,4 | 6,3 | ||||
Subsoil CEC (clay) (cmol/kg) | 140 | 20 | 140 | 140 | ||||
Subsoil CEC (soil) (cmol/kg) | 13 | 15 | 13 | 30 | ||||
Soil base saturation (%) | 85 | 94 | 85 | 80 | ||||
Subsoil TEB (cmol/kg) | 11,1 | 14,1 | 11,1 | 24 | ||||
Soil calcium carbonate (% weight) | 0,2 | 0,1 | 0,2 | 0,1 | ||||
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vergel-Rangel, G.A., Escamilla-García, P.E., Camarillo-López, R.H. et al. The environmental impact of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) production in Mexico City, Mexico through a life cycle assessment (LCA). Environ Dev Sustain 23, 18068–18095 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01428-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01428-7