Comparative life cycle assessment of olive (Olea europaea L.) production under different agricultural systems: Environmental trade-offs and sustainability insights

Introduction: Olive cultivation is a major agroecosystem in the Mediterranean basin, yet the environmental performance of its production systems remains poorly quantified, particularly in North Africa where life cycle inventory (LCI) data are limited. Methods: This study applied a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to eight representative olive production systems (traditional, integrated, and intensive). Primary data were obtained from field surveys and farm records, while secondary data from the Ecoinvent database were used for background processes. Environmental impacts were evaluated per hectare and per ton of olives for global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication and water consumption. Results: Fertilization and soil management emerged as dominant hotspots across all assessed impact categories, with synthetic inputs contributing up to 576 kg CO2-eq/ha to global warming potential and driving nutrient-related burdens. Water consumption ranged from 0.98 to 1767 m3/ha, primarily influenced by irrigation intensity. Overall global warming potential varied from 617 to 2583 kg CO2-eq/ha, reflecting substantial differences in input levels and resource-use efficiency among systems. Discussion and conclusions: The results demonstrate that environmental performance is strongly shaped by fertilizer regimes, irrigation practices, and soil management. Precision nutrient management, optimized irrigation, reduced tillage and agroecological interventions could substantially reduce impacts. This study provides one of the first structured LCAs for Tunisian olive systems and offers essential evidence to support the development of robust regional LCI datasets for Mediterranean olive production.