Category: Carbon footprint
Life cycle-based environmental methods and indicators for sustainable consumption and production in New Zealand food systems
An extensive LCA study was then undertaken for the orchard stage of the New Zealand avocado value chain, to guide the development of indicators for facilitating continuous environmental improvement. Data were collected from 49 orchards across the three main growing regions in New Zealand, plus 4 orchards that were recently established and thus classified as being in the non-productive and low production years of the avocado orchard life cycle. Individual orchard, regional and national level impact
Challenging the Sustainability Narrative: Unveiling the hidden socioecological costs of plant-based alternatives.
This thesis investigates the hidden socio-ecological costs associated with plant-based alternatives, with a particular focus on avocados produced in Michoacán, Mexico. This study employs a convergent mixed-methods design using three distinct components: Lifecycle Analysis (LCA), Emergy Analysis (EmA) and Political Ecology (PE). The LCA revealed a carbon footprint of 5.96 kg CO₂e per 1kg avocado, placing avocado production on par with other high-impact animal food sources, such as poultry. The
Effects of uniconazole treatment on ‘Hass’ avocado productivity and gas-exchange parameters under Mediterranean climate
Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) productivity faces major challenges due to rising market demand, climate variability, excessive vegetative growth, and labor-intensive management practices. This study evaluated the effects of soil-applied uniconazole (UNI), a gibberellin-biosynthesis inhibitor, on vegetative development, flowering, gas exchange, and fruit yield in mature ‘Hass’ avocado trees. The experiment, conducted over 2 years in a commercial orchard in northeastern Israel, compared three
Influence of Avocado Plantations as Driver of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Chile’s Aconcagua Basin
Land use and land cover (LULC) change is a dynamic process influenced by various factors, including agricultural expansion. In Chile’s Aconcagua Basin, avocado plantations are potentially driving territorial transformations. However, current land cover data lacks the resolution required to accurately assess this impact. Accordingly, our study used advanced geospatial analysis techniques to address this gap. Through a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal changes, it was determined that
Optimizing Planting Densities of Avocado on the Basis of Long-Term Canopy Growth and Development at Melkassa, Ethiopia
There is a controversy regarding the spacing requirements of avocado varieties, different experts recommend varying planting densities for different varieties in different avocado growing countries, including Ethiopia. Each avocado variety has its own canopy stature, thus there is no spacing that fits all varieties. The canopy growth of different avocado varieties was recorded annually from a replicated plot of well-established trees, assuming that the tree canopy reached a maximum growth during
Long-Term Trajectory Analysis of Avocado Orchards in the Avocado Belt, Mexico
Avocado orchards are among the most profitable and fastest-growing commodity crops in Mexico, especially in the area known as the “Avocado Belt”. Several efforts have been made to monitor their expansion; however, there is currently no method that can be easily updated to track this expansion. The main objective of this study was to monitor the expansion of avocado orchards from 1993 to 2024, using the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) algorithm and Landsat 5, 7, 8, and 9