scholarly journals Agricultural LCA for Food Oil of Winter Rapeseed, Sunflower, and Hemp, Based on Czech Standard Cultivation Practices

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2301
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Bernas ◽  
Tereza Bernasová ◽  
Václav Nedbal ◽  
Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner

The demand for food vegetable oil is rising and this trend is reflected in the agricultural sector of the Czech Republic. The traditional oil crops of the Czech Republic are winter rapeseed and sunflower. These oil crops have high demands on energy inputs, for example, in the form of land preparation and chemical protection. At the same time, they are characterized by high food oil production and oiliness. Moreover, marginal oils crops, such as hemp, are also gaining prominence. This work aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the cultivation of winter rapeseed and sunflowers based on standard cultivation practices typical of the conditions of the Czech Republic. For comparison, an intensive cultivation strategy for hemp was modelled, also corresponding to the conditions of the Czech Republic. This study assessed the environmental impact of traditional oil crops from the agricultural Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective. The system boundaries included all the processes from the cradle to the farm gate. Mass-based (volume of food oil) and area-based (land demand for generating the same volume of food oil) functional units were employed. The results cover nine impact categories related to the agricultural LCA. ReCiPe Midpoint (H) characterization and normalization models were used for the data expression. Hemp is a plant with generally low demands on the inputs of the growing cycle but generally has a low oil production, which affects the character of the results relating to the goal and scope definition of the study. Hemp food oil thus generated a higher environmental impact per unit of production and area compared to sunflower and rapeseed food oil.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliška Hudcová ◽  
Tomáš Chovanec ◽  
Jan Moudrý

Abstract This article pursues an innovative dimension of social entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector that keeps rural areas viable, so-called social farming. Social entrepreneurship appears as an essential driver in the European economy and it heads toward new opportunities mainly through its impact on social integration, economic sustainability, and fair society. Social farming and social farms can successfully respond to the challenge of social exclusion and lack of social services provision and other opportunities in rural areas through alternative therapeutic activities, sheltered working places or integrative educational activities in a farm environment. From this perspective, a social farm should correspond to the definition of a social enterprise. By introducing the basic frames of social entrepreneurship and social farming in general and in the Czech Republic, and by concentrating on fifteen Czech social farms, this paper presents an insight into this retro-innovative practice of social integration systems in the countryside. It mainly answers the question, whether social farming complies fully with social entrepreneurship stream, and it explores the role of the social farm in rural development by using semi-structured and in-depth interviews.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbora Duží ◽  
Robert Osman ◽  
Jiří Lehejček ◽  
Eva Nováková ◽  
Pavel Taraba ◽  
...  

Abstract Citizen science is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech Republic and currently a general overview of existing citizen science projects is not available. This presents the challenge to uncover the ‘hidden’ citizen science landscapes. The main objective of this paper is to explore the (public) representation of citizen science (CS) projects and to describe their heterogeneity. The study aims to answer the question of what type of projects in the Czech Republic meet the definition of citizen science. Based on a specific methodological data-base search approach, we compiled a set of CS projects (N = 73). During the classification process, two general citizen science categories were identified. The first group (N = 46) consists of “pure” CS projects with a prevalence towards the natural sciences, principally ornithology, and thus corresponding to general European trends. Citizens usually participate in such research in the form of data collection and basic interpretation, and a high level of cooperation between academia and NGOs was detected. The second group of “potential” CS projects (N = 27) entails various forms of public participation in general, frequently coordinated by NGOs. Based on these results, we discuss the position of citizen science in the Czech Republic, including socially-oriented citizen science. Further research is strongly encouraged to achieve a more in-depth insight into this social phenomenon.


2020 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Skokanová ◽  
Tomáš Slach

The  concept  of  Green  Infrastructure  (GI)  is  still  relatively  new  in  the  Czech Republic. When looking at the definition of GI, one can recognise a  relationship  with  the  Czech  Territorial  System  of  Ecological  Stability  (TSES),  which  is  defined  as  “an  interconnected  system  of  natural  as  well as modified semi-natural ecosystems keeping the natural balance”. TSES is a designed system and is an integral part of territorial plans. This article focuses on TSES and its relationship to GI, how it is implemented in  a  Czech  case  study  representing  intensively  used  agricultural  region  in  South  Moravia,  what  the  main  obstacles  are  to  its  implementation  and how TSES can contribute to the connectivity of the landscape. Our results show that nearly two thirds of the planned TSES in the case study area  already  exist  to  some  degree.  There  is  a  difference  between  the  number  and  the  area  of  existing  TSES  elements:  the  area  of  existing  elements  shows  higher  relative  values  than  the  number.  This  is  mainly  due to bio-centres that exist in large forest complexes and their pre-set minimal parameters. Creation of TSES elements increases connectivity of GI, especially those characterised as core areas and bridges


Author(s):  
Břetislav Andrlík

The paper deals with the efficiency of road tax in the tax system of the Czech Republic, focusing on the administrative costs of taxation on the timeline 2005 to 2009. It contains a theoretical definition of tax efficiency, and describes the types of costs connected with taxes. From this perspective it focuses on quantifying the direct administrative costs of road tax. Direct measurement of administrative costs is done by using the method called the method of recounted worker which classifies employees of local tax authorities in separate groups and assigns each group a specific number of employees for each reference road tax using the conversion factors. Then it defines the total expenditure of local tax authorities using the coefficients for a particular monitored tax and it provides administrative costs as a percentage of road tax receipts. It can be said from obtained results that direct administrative costs of road taxes are higher, especially if the Ministry of Finance (2004) states that the average direct administrative costs of the tax system in the Czech Republic reach about 2 %. The results achieved in individual surveyed years are for road tax in relation to the reported average value of direct administrative costs of the tax system in the Czech Republic, increased on average by about 1.96 percentage point. Finally, the results of measurements indicating the proposed amendment are discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 136-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Vácha ◽  
M. Sáňka ◽  
O. Sáňka ◽  
J. Skála ◽  
J. Čechmánková

The upper values of the extractability of trace elements (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in 2 mol/L HNO<sub>3</sub> and 0.025 mol/L ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (compared with their pseudototal content in aqua regia) for determination of prevailing anthropogenic and geogenic soil load were proposed and compared with the results of the other 30 Fluvisol samples collected from the Labe fluvial zone. The increased geogenic load of Fluvisols was confirmed in the case of Be and As in some localities where low extractability with increased pseudototal contents were detected as opposed to the other elements when their increased pseudototal contents were followed by their increased extractability. The maps of probability of increased geogenic soil load in the area of the Czech Republic based on the comparison of geological substrates and trace element load were constructed. The combination of proposed elements extractability values for geogenic load together with developed maps is a suitable tool for the definition of prevailing Fluvisol or sediment load on some localities in the whole area of the Czech Republic. The results can be also a useful tool in the decision making processes regarding dredged sediment application on agricultural soil (support tool for legislative norms, Direction No. 257/2009 Sb.).


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 505-509
Author(s):  
J. Hron ◽  
J. Štůsek ◽  
M. Arnošt ◽  
J. Huml

Abstract: The paper derives from the working and publication activities from research project “Chances of product diversification on behalf of improvement of competitive advantage in the small and middle-size farming business in the Czech Republic”. This paper deals with the critical success factors for successful diversification at the small and middle-size farming business. For the purpose effective implementation of the diversification have been identified the principal influences of this issue. Besides of that, we have tried to measure a diversification’s impact for an entrepreneurial profit in agricultural area. There is a definition of “diversification” as new farmer’s activities for using profit opportunity. On the base of 50 units-exploration has been made a hypothesis validation of the most often impulse for doing diversification. That is an effort to utilize more effectively the product factors of farming business. Further, there was a validation of the effective and efficiency diversifications‘ characters.


2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 311-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Exnerová ◽  
E. Cienciala

As a part of its obligations under the Climate Convention, the Czech Republic must annually estimate and report its anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. This also applies for the sector of agriculture, which is one of the greatest producers of methane and nitrous oxide emissions. This paper presents the approaches applied to estimate emissions in agricultural sector during the period 1990–2006. It describes the origin and sources of emissions, applied methodology, parameters and emission estimates for the sector of agriculture in the country. The total greenhouse gas emissions reached 7644 Gg CO<sub>2</sub> eq. in 2006. About 59% (4479 Gg CO<sub>2</sub> eq.) of these emissions has originated from agricultural soils. This quantity ranks agriculture as the third largest sector in the Czech Republic representing 5.3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The emissions under the Czech conditions consist mainly of emissions from enteric fermentation, manure management and agricultural soils. During the period 1990–2006, GHG emissions from agriculture decreased by 50%, which was linked to reduced cattle population and amount of applied fertilizers. The study concludes that the GHG emissions in the sector of agriculture remain significant and their proper assessment is required for sound climate change adaptation and mitigation policies.


2014 ◽  
pp. 63-68
Author(s):  
O. Skala ◽  
J. Táborský ◽  
V. Pivec ◽  
S. Horníčková ◽  
A. Hejtmánková

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