|
چکیده
|
Potato is an important crop that plays an essential role in providing livelihoods for rural areas in many parts of Western Iran such as Hamedan Province, and its production requires huge amounts of resources such as water, fossil energy, and agro- chemicals whose utilization degrades the environment in different ways. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the environ- mental sustainability of potato production by ecological footprint analysis. The ecological footprint (EF) is an alternative indicator of the impact of human activity on the environment. This study assesses the environmental sustainability of potato production by ecological footprint analysis in Hamedan as a major potato producer located in the west of Iran. Global hectares (gha) were used to measure the ecological footprint unit. A sample of 150 potato growers was randomly selected. The study was conducted by descriptive-survey research method using a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was checked by face and content validity. The reliability of the instrument was estimated at 0.92. To assess environmental sustainability, consumption-based ecological footprint, yield-based EF, and direct and indirect EF were analyzed. According to the results of the indices used, potato cultivation is environmentally unsustainable. Energy assessments showed that the total energy consumption was more than the ecological capacity of the required land to produce potatoes per hectare (1.26 gha). EF co2 was estimated at 0.57 gha, and the EF based on energy consumption was measured to be 3.06 gha. Accordingly, an area of 0.57 ha and 0.7 ha of productive land would be needed to meet the challenge of bio-capacity reduction, respectively. The EF of seed, diesel, and nitrogen fertilizer in both calculations had the highest impact on environmental sustainability. They were estimated at 30.5, 27.1, and 20.3% of global hectares, respectively. Findings implied that lower use of diesel and nitrogen fertilizer could pla
|