Assessing environmental impacts of rice production in Italy

Italy is the most important European county in terms of rice production (paddy rice). North Italian districts (such as Vercelli, Pavia, Milano and Novara) are known as one of the world’s most advanced rice cultivation sites (246.541 ha, 52% of European rice dedicated area). Cultivation of rice involves different agricultural activities, which derive on environmental impacts mainly due to fossil fuels and agrochemicals requirements as well as the methane emission associated with the fermentation of organic material in the flooded rice fields. In order to assess the environmental consequences of rice production in Italy, different plantations located in Pavia and Milano district (Lombardy) were evaluated and inventoried in detail. These plantations were chosen due to their representativeness for this area. The general approach of this study was not only to gather the inventory data for the rice production and quantify their environmental impacts but also to identify the environmental key factors where special attention must be paid on. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied in this study from a cradle-to-field gate perspective. Thus, the further processing of the rice was not considered within the system boundaries. The environmental profile was analysed in terms of four impact categories, commonly considered on environmental studies of agricultural systems: acidification, eutrophication, global warming and photochemical oxidants formation. According to the results, the methane emission from organic material fermentation in the flooded fields is the main responsible for greenhouse gases emission. Fertilizers production and combustion emissions derived from diesel fuel use in the agricultural activities present remarkable contributions in the remaining impact categories. Special attention must be paid on the methane emissions in order to produce rice under a more sustainable way.