Environmental Risk Assessment in Agriculture: The Example of Pistacia vera L. Cultivation in Greece

Georgios Bartzas and Konstantinos Komnitsas
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Georgios Bartzas: School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Zografos, Athens, Greece
Konstantinos Komnitsas: School of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: In this study, an integrated environmental risk assessment (ERA) study involving frequent monitoring of both water and soil parameters (24 on total), was carried out to assess and compare the environmental risk quality of three pistachio ( Pistacia vera L.) fields (two in Aegina island and one in Kilkis) based upon risk categories identified and assessed in terms of quality and quantity. In this context, vertical profiles and risk matrices were created for a 60-month period for the most important soil and water parameters i.e., soil pH, soil organic matter, soil salinity, heavy metals, and irrigation water quality. According to the obtained results, the two pistachio fields in Aegina exhibited reduced overall risk values, i.e., 17% and 27%, respectively after the adoption of sustainable cultivation practices, thus reflecting a transition from “medium to high risk” to “low to medium risk” environmental quality. On the other hand, overall risk values for the pistachio field in Kilkis were reduced by 34% and were lower compared to the ones obtained for the pistachio fields in Aegina. The better environmental profile identified for the entire period in Kilkis ranging from “medium risk” to “low risk” was the result of lower inherent risk associated with irrigation water quality and soil salinity. The proposed methodology can be easily applied in other agricultural areas and for similar cultivations in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.

Keywords: pistachio fields; risk classification; risk matrices; vertical soil profiles; irrigation water; environmental quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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