Global Warming Potential of Organic Strawberry Production under Unheated High Tunnels in Kentucky, USA

Sean Clark and Seyed Hashem Mousavi-Avval
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Sean Clark: Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404, USA
Seyed Hashem Mousavi-Avval: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: The global warming potential (GWP) of organic strawberries ( Fragaria × ananassa ) grown under high tunnels in Kentucky, USA, was assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The site, part of the Berea College Farm, had been under organic crop management for two decades. The GWP was calculated as 0.57 kg CO 2 -eq per kg of strawberries with the combined impact of the aluminum and plastic manufacturing accounting for 44% of the total and the direct production activities, including labor, accounting for another 28%. The average yields of 18,990 kg/ha of fresh fruit over the two years (2020–2021) were comparable to those typically reported in the southeastern USA for conventional production, but opportunities to increase strawberry yields in high tunnels without increasing inputs should be explored to reduce the GWP. Future research should also measure the GWP of production in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) systems, particularly plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), to compare the greenhouse gas emissions of strawberries grown with these technologies to those produced using the simple, high-tunnel method.

Keywords: strawberry; organic; greenhouse gas emissions; life cycle assessment; high tunnel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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