Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and Food Systems: The Case Study of Agroforestry

Abstract

In this PhD thesis, the potential environmental and net climate impacts of food from agroforestry systems (AFS) are explored using an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework and a pragmatic mixed-method case study approach. The methodological complexities are addressed by systematically reviewing the literature and testing diverse modeling approaches for handling multifunctionality and estimating the carbon sequestration potential at farm gate. Overall, this thesis provides insights into how the LCA framework captures environmental interactions in AFS from a supply-side and product-level perspective, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of agroforestry’s environmental role in the global food system