http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0431411
department or school: Science, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Biology, Department of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Smart, Alyssa
issued: 2023-04-25T15:29:52Z
issued: 2023
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Representation of the impacts of irrigation in agricultural systems is often simplified in life cycle assessment (LCA) to consider only water and energy consumption. This research aimed to understand the importance of irrigation as a contributor to a more comprehensive suite of environmental outcomes of Okanagan cherry orchard production and to elucidate whether employing more efficient irrigation technologies on orchards propagated relevant reductions to environmental impacts. However, how human consumption of freshwater use impacts terrestrial ecosystems is not well understood in life cycle impact assessment and presents a challenge for accurately modelling these pathways. A regionalized life cycle inventory of Okanagan water delivery systems was developed and an LCA was performed to determine the share and distribution of environmental burdens associated with irrigation water, inclusive of processes within the water supply network. To improve our capacity to understand of the impacts of human consumption of freshwater use, a methodological framework was also developed using a literature analysis to model the impacts of freshwater use on terrestrial dryland and semi-arid ecosystems, as applicable to the semi-arid Okanagan. Irrigation contributed a significant portion to most life cycle environmental impacts of cherry production. The highest impact contributions from irrigation were found in the categories water scarcity, human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and mineral resource use. Employment of more efficient irrigation technologies than the most common irrigation system used on cherry orchards decreased impacts to these categories by 10-16%. Increased carbon dioxide emissions from bicarbonate deposited in orchard soils from irrigation did not make substantial relative impacts to the overall emissions of Okanagan cherry production. When the increased nitrous oxide emissions associated with drip irrigation were considered in the model of cherry orchard product…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/84479
note: LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF FRESHWATER USE IN THE SEMI-ARID OKANAGAN: BUILDING THE FRAMEWORK FOR NEW LCIA IMPACT PATHWAYS OF FRESHWATER USE FOR TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS AND MODELING IRRIGATION WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND USE IN HORTICULTURE by Alyssa Smart B.Sc., University of British Columbia, 2018 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Biology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) April 2023 © Alyssa Smart, 2023 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Life cycle assessment of freshwater use in the semi-arid Okanagan: building the framework for new LCIA impact pathways of freshwater use for terrestrial ecosystems and modeling irrigation water infrastructure and use in horticulture submitted by Alyssa Smart in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science . Dr. Nathan Pelletier, University of British Columbia Okanagan Supervisor Dr. Melanie Jones, University of British Columbia Okanagan Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Johannus Janmaat, University of British Columbia Okanagan Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sean Smukler, University of British Columbia University Examiner iii Abstract Representation of the impacts of irrigation in agricultural systems is often simplified in life cycle assessment (LCA) to consider only water and energy consumption. This research aimed to understand the importance of irrigation as a contributor to a more comprehensive suite of environmental outcomes of Okanagan cherry orchard production and to elucidate whether employing more efficient irrigation technologies on orchards propagated relevant reductions to environmental impacts. However, how human consumption of freshwater use impacts terrestrial ecosystems is not well understood in life cycle impact assessment and presents a challenge for accurately …
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2023-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0431411
language: eng
degree discipline: Biology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Pelletier, Nathan
title: Life cycle assessment of freshwater use in the semi-arid Okanagan : building the framework for new LCIA impact pathways of freshwater use for terrestrial ecosystems and modeling irrigation water infrastructure and use in horticulture
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/84479