Life cycle assessment of cultivating lettuce and escarole in Spain

The LCA methodology proved to be a useful tool to evaluate the environmental burdens of producing two leafy crops in Spain. The environmental results were very similar for two crops, but the escarole crop produced a major contribution in all impact categories due to lower commercial yields. The main burdens in the production systems were structure, auxiliary equipment and fertilisers. GH was the production system with the largest environmental impact in all categories and crops due to the greenhouse structure. Improving design of the greenhouse structure and the irrigation system and using recycled materials could produce significant impact reduction. The reduction and optimising of N fertiliser application should be considered a priority to improve the environmental impact of the different cultivation systems.