Europ. J.

Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

European Journal of Agronomy

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eja

Environmental impact of Agaricus bisporus cultivation process

F.J. Leiva a , J.C. Saenz-Díez b , E. Martínez a , E. Jiménez b , J. Blanco a,∗
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental—C/Luis de Ulloa, 20, 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
b
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental—C/Luis de Ulloa, 20, 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper analyses the environmental impact of the process of cultivating Agaricus bisporus. Cultivation
Received 5 June 2015 is the final phase of the mushroom production process. We seek to quantify the environmental impact
Received in revised form of this process by means of a life-cycle analysis (LCA).
15 September 2015
This paper presents a cradle-to-gate LCA of the process of farming Agaricus bisporus mushrooms, based
Accepted 22 September 2015
on actual data from a production plant gathered over the course of a year so as to provide accurate
Available online 1 October 2015
information on the environmental impact of the various activities that make up the production process.
An overall analysis of the main phases of the production process reveals that the activity with the
Keywords:
Environmental impact
greatest impact in almost all categories is the climate control of the growing chambers, because of the
Life cycle assessment considerable amount of energy required to power the system, which is running continuously. The only
Mushroom growing impact categories in which climate control is not the number one phase are global warming in the growing
Agaricus bisporus phase and ozone layer depletion and eutrophication in the covering soil preparation phase.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction It grows mainly on substrates that must be partly decomposed

Agaricus bisporus is a basidiomycete mushroom belonging to the
Agaricaceae family which is cultivated in over 70 countries (Ma
et al., 2014; Saravanan et al., 2013), and has for decades been the
most widely grown of all mushrooms (Foulongne-Oriol et al., 2014;
Tautorus and Townsley, 1984). It is used mostly in cooking, where
it has been an important component of the human diet for over
200 years (Morin et al., 2012), but is also widely used in medicine
since it has anti-microbial, anti-tumoral, anti-carcinogenic and
anti-oxidant properties (Özçelik and Pekşen, 2007). It provides
substantial amounts of high-quality proteins, amino acids, polysac-
charides and vitamins (Moon and Lo, 2013; Wani et al., 2010), low
energy levels and certain important elements such as potassium
and phosphorus, and is acknowledged as being of gastronomic
value (Vetter, 2007). The fruiting bodies of this mushroom have
been used for centuries as foods and food flavourings (Ma et al.,
2014). It is farmed under ambient conditions designed to suit its
growth, but can be found in all highly humid regions between
spring and autumn (Akinyele et al., 2012).
so that they are free of soluble sugars conducive to the growth of
mould and bacteria (Donini et al., 2006).
This paper sets out to analyse the environmental impact of
the process of cultivating Agaricus bisporus. Cultivation is the final
phase of the mushroom production process. Scientific studies have
been conducted on other varieties of mushrooms (Tongpool and
Pongpat, 2013; Ueawiwatsakul et al., 2014), but there is little scien-
tific literature on the environmental implications of the production
process of Agaricus bisporus. We seek to quantify the environmen-
tal impact of this process by means of a life-cycle analysis (LCA).
By identifying and analysing the inputs and outputs of the various
activities involved we have been able to draw up a cradle-to-gate
LCA for the process.
This LCA is based on data from production plants in the La Rioja
region of Spain. La Rioja is Spain’s number one producer of Agaricus
bisporus, with a total of 215 ha given over to its cultivation (43.3%
of the total for Spain). The region produces 52% of Spain’s national
output (Ministry of Agriculture, 2014) and 4.25% of that of Europe
(Sonnenberg et al., 2011).

1.1. Mushroom growing

∗ Corresponding author.
Mushrooms were originally grown in caves, but the process has
E-mail addresses: francisco.leiva@alum.unirioja.es
(F.J. Leiva), juan-carlos.saenz-diez@unirioja.es (J.C. Saenz-Díez),
gradually shifted to climate-controlled chambers where growing
eduardo.martinezc@unirioja.es (E. Martínez), emilio.jimenez@unirioja.es conditions can be controlled. This entails energy consumption and
(E. Jiménez), julio.blanco@unirioja.es (J. Blanco). requires cooling systems (Foulongne-Oriol et al., 2014).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2015.09.013
1161-0301/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
142 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148
The development of a new colony of Agaricus bisporus begins
with the germination of spores. Their hyphae grow and form a large
mycelium network. Various factors then induce the mycelium to
produce fruiting bodies under controlled climate conditions (Leiva-
Lázaro et al., 2015; Umar and Van Griensven, 1997).
The fruiting bodies of Agaricus bisporus begin to develop and
grow as soon as the primordia appear. They ripen, produce spores,
then finally go into senescence, the period between full maturity
and the death of the organism. The post-harvesting period of the
fruiting bodies is of the utmost importance for marketing purposes,
as they must maintain their characteristic colour and aroma (Umar
and Van Griensven, 1997).
A quality substrate is a prime requirement for growing mush-
rooms successfully: they absorb all their nutrients from the
substrate, which is also an important source of lignocellulose for
the development of the fruiting body (Tripathy et al., 2009). The
substrate comprises mainly compost with a covering layer of soil
on which the fruiting bodies form (Berendsen et al., 2012). The
compost substrate is generally made up of manure, mostly chicken
manure at present because it is in abundant supply (Castle, 1993).
The job of the covering layer is to keep the crop properly hydrated
at all times and protect it from aggressive microflora (Gillmann
et al., 1994). The covering layer is generally composed of neutralised
peat with chalk or limestone (Castle, 1993). Peat is used as a cov-
ering material (Gülser and Pekşen, 2003; Noble et al., 2003). The
physical and chemical properties required of peat (and any other
substrate) include high porosity and water retention capacity, a pH
of between 7.2 and 8.2, an active lime concentration of between
2.5 and 3.5% and a total nitrogen concentration of between 0.7 and
0.8%. The material must also have low inorganic and organic nutri-
ent contents and be free from contaminations and pests (Gülser
and Pekşen, 2003).
The mycelia of different species grow differently, depending on
the type of medium used and the pH, though growth is also influ-
enced by genetic make-up, by the substrate, by the temperature
(De Andrade et al., 2010) and by the ageing of the mycelium (Mata
and Savoie, 2013).
During incubation and coverage, the temperature must be kept
below 28 ◦ C. The ambient temperature needs to be brought down
to stimulate sporophore production. Temperatures of 16–19 ◦ C are
recommended during the fruiting period (Foulongne-Oriol et al.,
2014) and 21–25 ◦ C during the growth phase (Largeteau et al.,
2011).
Studies have demonstrated that Agaricus bisporus can withstand
temperature increases and has adapted to temperatures as high as
25 ◦ C during the fruiting phase (Largeteau et al., 2011).
1.2. Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
LCA is an appropriate way of assessing and analysing the
environmental impact and other environment-related issues of ser-
vices, materials and products throughout their life cycles (Azapagic
and Clift, 1999; Baumann and Tillman, 2004; Leiva-Lázaro et al.,
2014). It can be defined as a compilation and assessment of the
inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product
system throughout its life-cycle (Nicolae and George-Vlad, 2015).
LCA is conducted with two main goals:
• to quantify and assess the environmental performance of a prod-
uct, process or activity over its whole life-cycle (Pieragostini et al.,
2014);
• to provide a basis for assessing potential improvements in the
environmental performance of a product system (Azapagic and
Clift, 1999).
LCA provides a quantitative basis for assessing potential
improvements in the environmental performance of a system
throughout its life-cycle, and is therefore an increasingly important
tool for decision-making in the field of environmental management
(Azapagic and Clift, 1999; Siracusa et al., 2014), under standard ISO
14040 (Martínez et al., 2009). It helps to decide which is the best
possible option (Guinee et al., 1993; Jiménez et al., 2014; Stevenson
et al., 2014) and provides a basis for assessing potential improve-
ments in the environmental performance of a system or product
(Azapagic and Clift, 1999; Khoshnevisan et al., 2013; Ulloa et al.,
2011). It was developed to analyse environmental impacts such
as global warming, soil use and water use, depletion of the ozone
layer, acidification, human toxicity, eco-toxicity, depletion of nat-
ural resources, energy consumption and eutrophication (Jiménez
et al., 2014).
It can also be used as a tool for identifying critical points in
production processes with a view to identifying potential improve-
ments (Belussi et al., 2015), and as a tool for examining all
environment-related aspects and potential impacts of products or
services, since it considers all aspects and phases of each product
or process (Jiménez et al., 2014).
The LCA model used here was drawn up using the Simapro 7.3
software package and the CML 2000 Leiden calculation method.
One of the first requirements is to properly define the goals and
limits of the system. This is essential for the assessment of the final
results, because it is necessary to know not only the extent of the
impact assessed but also the extent of the study and the different
process phases taken into account.
The main goal is to obtain a comprehensive environmental view
of the process, by identification and analysis of the inputs and out-
puts of materials and energy associated with the different ways
in which each activity involved in the process of growing Agaricus
bisporus takes place.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Goals and scope
A cradle-to-gate analysis is conducted, examining the produc-
tion processes and identifying in each case the materials used, the
energy resources and the process flows involved up to the pro-
duction of the final functional unit. Also included are the flow of
products from the entry of raw materials (including transport from
the source firm to the producer) and the harvesting of the end
product.
The phases of the life-cycle taken into account therefore range
from material inputs to the storage of the end product, in order to
identify the critical activities within the process.
2.2. Functional unit
The functional unit used for this study is a 1 kg of Agaricus bis-
porus mushrooms.
2.3. System boundaries
Limits are set on actions in order to focus the study. The limits
in regard to the LCA cover overall production of the product, i.e. the
growing of 1 kg of mushrooms (defined as the functional unit) and
their distribution (see Fig. 1).
The activities included within the system boundaries are the
following:
• Materials input, including transport from point of origin.
• Fuel consumed by forklift trucks and dozers.
 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148
Fig. 1. System boundaries.
• Electricity consumed by process production equipment.
• Movement of materials and products from the entrance points
used within the production plant.
• CO2 emissions during growing.
• Loading and transporting of end product.
• Distribution of end product to consumers.
• Waste management.
The following are excluded from the system boundaries:
• All the activities and consumption inherent in the production,
acquisition and maintenance of capital goods. These items are
excluded because of their scant impact on the functional unit and
because of a lack of data.
• Setting up and dismantling of the growing plant. This exclusion
is based on the scant impact of this item on the functional unit
and on a lack of data.
• Transportation and treatment of organic waste produced at the
plant.
• Treatment of waste from the end product at the consumption
stage.
143
2.4. Assumptions
• There is no stocking of the end product, i.e., all output is dis-
tributed.
• The ventilation in the growing chambers is considered to be con-
stant throughout the process.
• The functional unit considered is 1 kg of mushrooms.
• The capacity of the growing chambers is 1656 seed packages.
• Daily output is considered to be the same for each working day,
with the growing chambers kept at maximum capacity as regards
seed packages.
• CO2 concentrations during the growing process are measured on
site with a calibrated measuring device.
• A seed packages is a mixture of compost and mycelium seeds
(Leiva-Lázaro et al., 2015) with an average weight of 19 kg.
2.5. Inventory
For this study a cradle-to-gate LCA of the full process of growing
Agaricus bisporus mushrooms has been carried out. Raw material
consumption and the distances covered by suppliers have been
taken into account. The study also includes all the sources of energy
used in the process.
144 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148

Table 1 Table 4
Inventory data for climate controlled chambers. Inventory data for preparation of the growing chambers.

Materials Quantity per kg of product Materials Quantity per kg of product

Electricity usage 2.04E − 01 kWh Disinfectant 2.51E − 04 L

Biomass 1.68E + 02 kcal Water 7.20E − 05 m3
Disinfectant 1.24E − 04 L Diesel 2.68E − 03 L
Seed packages 1.78E − 01 packages

The inventory is drawn up in line with the data provided and

collected over the course of a year, beginning and ending in August. Once the covering soil is prepared the mixture is placed in
To facilitate analysis and assessment, the process is divided into a container ready for its subsequent use during the covering
various phases (see Fig. 1): phase.

• Climate controlled chambers: temperature control of the facility.
• Ventilated chambers: temperature control of the facility.
• Preparation of the covering soil: preparation of the soil used to
cover the seed packages with mycelium for the growing process.
• Preparation of the growing chambers: placement of trays and
utensils required for the growing process.
• Growing process: divided in various phases, such as, mycelium
activation, homogenisation and end product harvesting.
• Waste management: management of the waste produced during
the growing phase up to the harvesting of the end product for
subsequent processing.
2.5.4. Preparation of the growing chambers
The next phase of the process is the preparation of the growing
chambers so that the seed packages can be placed in them. The
materials and resources used in this phase are listed in Table 4.
The process begins with the disinfection of the growing cham-
bers to prevent the appearance of contaminations during the
growing process (see Fig. 2, Disinfecting GC activity). Once disin-
fection is completed, the chambers are prepared by setting out the
cages where the seed packages are to be placed (see Fig. 2, Preparing
GC activity). The seed packages are then placed on the cages so that
the growing process can begin (see Fig. 2, Placing seed packages
activity).

2.5.1. Climate controlled chambers

2.5.5. Growing process
This study covers two types of chamber: climate-controlled and
The next phase is the growing process itself, which culminates
ventilated. The growing process in climate-controlled chambers
with the harvesting of the end product. The materials and resources
includes constant temperature control and a heating system pow-
used in this phase are listed in Table 5.
ered by biomass. The materials and resources used in this phase are
This process begins once all the seed packages have been placed
listed in Table 1.
on the cages in the chambers with the covering soil prepared ear-
lier and water has been added to start the growing phase (see Fig. 2,
2.5.2. Ventilated chambers Covering seed packages activity). Continual fumigation by adding
The growing process in ventilated chambers features only a ven- fungicides and insecticides is required to prevent the appearance
tilation system to keep clean air constantly recirculating through of pests during the growing process (see Fig. 2, Fumigation activ-
the interior of the chambers. The materials and resources used in ity). During the growing process homogenisation (activation of the
this phase are listed in Table 2. mycelium) and fruiting (development of the fruiting bodies) begin
(see Fig. 2, Homogenisation activity and Fruition activity). When
2.5.3. Preparation of the covering soil the fruiting process is completed the fruiting bodies are harvested
The first phase of the growing process is to prepare the soil used in three different collections in each chamber (see Fig. 2, Harvesting
to cover the seed packages. The materials and resources used in this activity). During harvesting, the product is manually cut and placed
phase are listed in Table 3. in boxes for its subsequent distribution (see Fig. 2, Distribution
The process begins with the disinfection of the area where the activity).
covering soil is to be prepared, so as to prevent the appearance of
contaminations during the growing process (see Fig. 2, Disinfecting 2.5.6. Waste management
CS activity). Peat is received in big-bags, which are deposited in the The final phase is the management of the
disinfected area. This peat does not contain sufficient moisture, so waste produced during the process. The materi-
water is added to bring the moisture content up to the level required als and resources used in this phase are listed in
for covering soil. In this phase fungicides are also added to prevent Table 6.
pests and/or contaminations during the growing process (see Fig. 2,
Mixing activity).
Table 5
Inventory data for growing process.
Table 2 Materials Quantity per kg of product
Inventory data for ventilated chambers.
Water 1.04E − 03 m3
Electricity usage 2.48E − 02 kWh Fungicide 8.36E − 02 L
Materials Quantity per kg of product Insecticide 1.71E − 04 L
Box 8.36E − 02 units
Labels 8.36E − 02 units
Table 3
Inventory data for preparation of the covering soil.
Table 6
Materials Quantity per kg of product Inventory data for waste management.
Peat 5.18E − 03 t
Materials Quantity per kg of product
Fungicide 7.81E − 02 L
Disinfectant 2.79E − 05 L Diesel 8.92E − 04 L
Water 2.01E − 01 m3 Transport 1.24E − 01 kg/km
 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148
Fig. 2. Flow chart of the Mushroom cultivation process.
The waste produced when mushrooms are cut is deposited in
a container for subsequent collection and treatment. Packages and
spent soil at the end of the growing process are placed in a separate
container for collection and treatment at a specific plant (see Fig. 2,
Removing packages and Soil activity).
3. Results
This paper presents an LCA carried out to identify the main
environmental impacts in the process of growing Agaricus bisporus
mushrooms, based on a cradle-to-gate approach. It is conducted
with SimaPro® software, using the CML Leiden 2000 method to
calculate environmental impact. The functional unit set for the LCA
is 1 kg of product.
The environmental impact results obtained from the LCA are
presented below. The overall environmental impact of the product
in all the impact categories analysed is presented first, and then the
results for each of the three phases are presented separately.
145
3.1. Overall environmental impact analysis
Table 7 presents the overall environmental impact results for
the product studied, covering all the impact categories considered.
The weight of each phase of production considered in this LCA
(i.e., preparation of covering soil, preparation of growing chambers,
growing process and waste management) is also shown.
An analysis of the main phases of the overall production process
reveals that the preparation of growing chambers is the process
with the greatest impact in almost all categories. This is because it
consumes a great deal of energy. The environmental impact of this
phase varies depending on the impact category considered, from
48.39% for seawater eco-toxicity to 74.12% for eutrophication (see
Table 7).
In the growing process the greatest impact is that of global
warming, at 99.28%, and in the climate control of the chambers it is
soil eco-toxicity, at 87.88 % (see Table 7). This is because the carbon
sink effect of the organic matter in the compost and in the covering
146 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148

Table 7
Global environmental impact, CML .ethodology.

Impact category Unit Total Preparation of the Preparation of the Growing Waste Ventilation Climate
covering soil growing chambers process management control

Abiotic depletion (AD) kg Sb eq 6.78E − 03 1.96E − 03 3.76E − 03 5.44E − 05 1.79E − 05 1.06E − 04 8.87E − 04
Global warming (GWP100) kg CO2 eq 4.42E + 00 −1.37E + 00 −1.45E + 00 7.10E + 00 3.92E − 04 1.51E − 02 1.33E − 01
Ozone layer depletion (OLD) kg CFC-11 eq 9.07E − 08 3.54E − 08 4.98E − 08 6.38E − 10 3.47E − 10 4.55E − 10 4.05E − 09
Human toxicity (HT) kg 1,4-DB eq 4.32E − 01 8.07E − 02 2.88E − 01 1.64E − 03 2.68E − 04 5.62E − 03 5.57E − 02
Fresh water aquatic ecotox (FWAE) kg 1,4-DB eq 5.47E − 02 6.27E − 03 3.46E − 02 3.35E − 04 2.83E − 05 1.41E − 03 1.21E − 02
Marine aquatic ecotoxicity (MAE) kg 1,4-DB eq 4.36E + 02 4.68E + 01 2.11E + 02 1.64E + 00 2.42E − 01 1.90E + 01 1.57E + 02
Terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE) kg 1,4-DB eq −1.01E − 02 −9.60E − 03 −2.89E − 03 3.73E − 05 1.62E − 06 2.52E − 04 2.11E − 03
Photochemical oxidation (PO) kg C2 H4 2.58E − 04 5.43E − 05 1.27E − 04 1.10E − 06 2.63E − 07 8.02E − 06 6.74E − 05
Acidification (AC) kg SO2 eq 7.95E − 03 1.60E − 03 4.29E − 03 2.15E − 05 4.69E − 06 2.14E − 04 1.83E − 03
Eutrophication (EU) kg PO4 – -eq 2.41E − 03 5.34E − 04 1.79E − 03 2.17E − 06 4.72E − 07 7.34E − 06 7.94E − 05

Table 8
Detail of the environmental impact by activities, CML methodology.

Preparation of the covering soil Preparation of the growing chambers

Category Unit Mixing Disinfecting CS Placing seed packages Disinfecting GC Preparing GC

AD kg Sb eq 1.96E − 03 2.51E − 06 3.72E − 03 2.26E − 05 1.78E − 05

GWP100 kg CO2 eq −1.37E + 00 2.05E − 04 −1.45E + 00 1.84E − 03 3.72E − 04
OLD kg CFC-11 eq 3.54E − 08 3.58E − 11 4.91E − 08 3.22E − 10 3.44E − 10
HT kg 1,4-DB eq 8.06E − 02 1.09E − 04 2.86E − 01 9.83E − 04 2.63E − 04
FWAE kg 1,4-DB eq 6.25E − 03 1.70E − 05 3.44E − 02 1.53E − 04 2.74E − 05
MAE kg 1,4-DB eq 4.67E + 01 1.20E − 01 2.10E + 02 1.08E + 00 2.39E − 01
TE kg 1,4-DB eq −9.61E − 03 3.48E − 06 −2.92E − 03 3.14E − 05 1.58E − 06
PO kg C2H4 5.43E − 05 6.05E − 08 1.26E − 04 5.45E − 07 2.59E − 07
AC kg SO2 eq 1.59E − 03 1.36E − 06 4.27E − 03 1.22E − 05 4.57E − 06
EU kg PO4 eq 5.34E − 04 8.25E − 08 1.78E − 03 7.42E − 07 4.48E − 07

Growing process

Category Unit Covering Fumigation Homogenisation Fruition Harvesting Distribution

AD kg Sb eq 3.43E − 05 8.60E − 06 1.34E − 06 1.34E − 06 2.74E − 06 3.43E − 05

GWP100 kg CO2 eq 2.60E + 00 9.49E − 01 2.78E − 01 7.45E − 01 2.53E + 00 2.60E + 00
OLD kg CFC-11 eq 3.35E − 10 1.22E − 10 1.91E − 11 1.91E − 11 2.66E − 11 3.35E − 10
HT kg 1,4-DB eq 8.29E − 04 3.75E − 04 5.83E − 05 5.83E − 05 1.32E − 04 8.29E − 04
FWAE kg 1,4-DB eq 1.70E − 04 5.96E − 05 9.04E − 06 9.04E − 06 5.13E − 05 1.70E − 04
MAE kg 1,4-DB eq 7.69E − 01 4.14E − 01 6.37E − 02 6.37E − 02 2.13E − 01 7.69E − 01
TE kg 1,4-DB eq 1.71E − 05 1.19E − 05 1.86E − 06 1.86E − 06 2.95E − 06 1.71E − 05
PO kg C2 H4 5.49E − 07 2.10E − 07 3.23E − 08 3.23E − 08 1.14E − 07 5.49E − 07
AC kg SO2 eq 8.64E − 06 4.68E − 06 7.25E − 07 7.25E − 07 1.86E − 06 8.64E − 06
EU kg PO4 eq 7.16E − 07 2.84E − 07 4.40E − 08 4.40E − 08 1.24E − 07 7.16E − 07

soil used in preparation for covering and in the preparation of the
growing chambers has a positive impact in the said categories.
By contrast, the phase with the least impact is that of waste
treatment, because of its low energy demand and demand for mate-
rials. The figures for impacts are much lower than the other phases,
and in fact vary from 0.002% in the global warming category to
0.38% in the ozone layer depletion category (see Table 7).
3.2. Environmental impact phase by phase
Each phase is analysed separately below, identifying each activ-
ity considered in each case and its weight in the environmental
impact of the various categories.
3.2.1. Preparation of the covering soil
In this phase the activity with the greatest impact in all cate-
gories is the mixing of the covering soil, because it consumes more
energy and material resources than the disinfection phase. The
environmental impact of this phase ranges from 99.72% in the water
eco-toxicity category to 99.98 % for eutrophication (see Table 8).
The impact of the disinfection and cleaning of the covering soil
preparation area is much lower than that of the soil mixing, ranging
from 0.09% in the acidification category to 0.27% in fresh-water
eco-toxicity (see Table 8).
It is worth noting that there are positive impacts during the cov-
ering soil mixing phase in the categories of global warming and
soil eco-toxicity due to the absorption of CO2 by the organic mat-
ter in the peat. That is why there is only a negative impact in the
disinfection phase in the mixing area.
3.2.2. Preparation of the growing chambers
In the preparation of the growing chambers the phase of plac-
ing the packages in the chambers is the activity with the greatest
impact in almost all categories, because the machinery used con-
sumes more energy. In figures this environmental impact ranges
from 99.72% in the freshwater eco-toxicity category to 99.98% for
eutrophication.
The biggest impacts in the categories of global warming and soil
eco-toxicity can be found in the disinfection of the growing cham-
bers, at 83.22% and 95.02%, respectively, due to the fact that there
are positive impacts from the incorporation of compost and the
mycelium seeds in the chamber preparation phase, so the biggest
negative impacts are found in the growing chamber disinfection
phase.
By contrast, the growing chambers preparation phase has low
impacts in almost all categories because most of the demand for
energy and use of materials take place in other activities. Its impact
ranges from 0.03% in the eutrophication category to 16.78% in the
global warming categories, with the exception of ozone layer deple-
 F.J. Leiva et al. / Europ. J. Agronomy 71 (2015) 141–148
tion, where the lowest impact can be found in the disinfection of
the growing chambers, with 0.65% (see Table 8).
3.2.3. Growing process
In the growing phase the activity with the greatest impact in
almost all categories is the covering of the seed packages with com-
post, because of the energy consumed in this process. The extent of
the impact varies from one impact category to another, with a fig-
ure of 36.58% in the global warming category and as much as 63.16%
in abiotic depletion. In the harvesting phase there is a significant
impact of 35.62% in the global warming category.
The only impact category in which the growing phase does not
have the greatest impact is eutrophication, where the end product
distribution process accounts for 44.25% of the total impact (see
Table 8).
By contrast, the processes with the lowest impacts in almost
all categories are homogenisation and fruiting, with figures that
range from 2.02% in the eutrophication category to 4.98% in soil
eco-toxicity. An exception is the global warming category, where
the lowest impact is that of the distribution phase, with 0.012 %
(see Table 8).
4. Discussions and conclusions
This paper presents a cradle-to-gate LCA of the process of farm-
ing Agaricus bisporus mushrooms, based on actual data from a
production plant gathered over the course of a year so as to provide
accurate information on the environmental impact of the various
activities that make up the production process.
An overall analysis of the main phases of the production process
reveals that the activity with the greatest impact in almost all cat-
egories is the climate control of the growing chambers, because of
the considerable amount of energy required to power the system,
which is running continuously. The only impact categories in which
climate control is not the number one phase are global warming in
the growing phase and ozone layer depletion and eutrophication
in the covering soil preparation phase.
The result obtained in the category of global warming is 4.42 kg
CO2 eq. Comparing with other cultures, such as strawberry (4.4 kg
CO2 eq.) or lettuce (5.5 kg CO2 eq.) (Gunady et al., 2012), the result
is similar, and it is within a range of acceptable emissions for edible
cultures. Therefore, the CO2 emissions associated to the production
of Agaricus bisporus suppose a less relevant impact than the initially
estimated. Besides, this value represents a reference for the imple-
mentation and control of measures to reduce the environmental
impact of mushroom production plants.
Analyzing in detail the production process, in the preparation of
covering soil the activity with the greatest impact in all categories
is the mixing of the soil, because of how much energy it requires.
In the preparation of the growing chambers phase the disinfec-
tion of the chambers is the activity with the greatest impact in many
phases, because of the large amount of energy required and the use
of chemical disinfectants. Exceptions are abiotic depletion, ozone
layer depletion, photo-chemical oxidation and eutrophication, in
which the greatest impact can be found in the process of placing
the seed packages in the growing chambers.
In the growing process phase the activity with the greatest
impact in almost all categories is the covering of the packages with
compost, because of the amount of energy consumed by the cool-
ing system for final storage. The exception is eutrophication, where
the biggest impact is found in the end product distribution phase.
147
Acknowledgments
This paper has been supported by the project of the Government
of La Rioja (ADER 2011-I-IDD-00043) “Producción sostenible del
champiñón de La Rioja y mejora de la protección ambiental, a través
de la investigación de Ecoindicadores del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida
(ACV)”.
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