Life cycle assessment of the extensive production of cereals and rape seed

The environmental impact of the extensive production of cereals and rape seed called «Extenso» was analysed by means of life cycle assessment (LCA). The extensification measure, that is the ban of fungicides, insecticides and growth regulators, resulted in a reduction of the quantity of pesticides applied by up to 50 % and a decrease of yield of 13 to 23 %. Furthermore, it mitigated the ecotoxic effects of pesticides on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. However, this effect was partly caused by a reduced application of herbicides and was superposed to a large extent by the impact of heavy metals contained in fertilisers. With respect to biodiversity, the extensification was first favourable in rape seed. For all other environmental impacts however, there were no assured advantages of the extensive production. A comparison with other cropping variants showed that the farming system and the fertilisation led to large differences in the environmental impacts, which revealed to be much more important than the Extenso program.The environmental impact of the extensive production of cereals and rape seed called «Extenso» was analysed by means of life cycle assessment (LCA). The extensification measure, that is the ban of fungicides, insecticides and growth regulators, resulted in a reduction of the quantity of pesticides applied by up to 50 % and a decrease of yield of 13 to 23 %. Furthermore, it mitigated the ecotoxic effects of pesticides on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. However, this effect was partly caused by a reduced application of herbicides and was superposed to a large extent by the impact of heavy metals contained in fertilisers. With respect to biodiversity, the extensification was first favourable in rape seed. For all other environmental impacts however, there were no assured advantages of the extensive production. A comparison with other cropping variants showed that the farming system and the fertilisation led to large differences in the environmental impacts, which revealed to be much more important than the Extenso program.