Source: UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY submitted to NRP
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES, ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS, CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, AND LABOR MANAGEMENT IN THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0224056
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
S-1051
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2010
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2015
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
500 S LIMESTONE 109 KINKEAD HALL
LEXINGTON,KY 40526-0001
Performing Department
Horticulture
Non Technical Summary
The value proposition for the green industry in the future must focus on the unique ways in which quality of life is improved for its customer base. Sustainability is an integral part of our value proposition message in the future and the green industry cannot overemphasize the importance of this quality of life message, particularly in focusing its differentiation strategies in the future. This project is a continuation of previous multi-state projects active since 1976. A large team of research and extension faculty from numerous public universities will contribute to this project, including both agricultural economists and horticulturists. This group, known as the Green Industry Research Consortium, has a history of interdisciplinary collaboration. Project investigators will utilize various research methods to address these research objectives, such as input-output analysis, enterprise budgeting, field trials, energy and water audits, and life-cycle analysis. The project will develop outreach materials for target audiences, including peer-reviewed publications, trade press articles, workshops, presentations at professional conferences, and various electronic media such as websites, weblogs, webinars, DVDs, software, and podcasts. The results stemming from these collaborative research efforts will also better enable industry firms to better tell their story in regards to sustainability.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2052110106060%
2052120106020%
6012110106010%
6012120106010%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
2110 - Ornamental trees and shrubs; 2120 - Herbaceous perennials and decorative greens;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
Goals / Objectives
This multi-state project will conduct applied research and outreach education in support of improved production, management and marketing practices in the U.S. environmental horticulture or "Green" industry. Of the four objective of this project, the University of Kentucky will address objective 1. Investigate sustainable practices in ornamental crop production and landscape systems. Expected Outcomes: Cost estimates will be developed for selected new technologies and sustainable production practices. The most economically feasible sustainable landscape practices will be identified, along with an economic analysis of costs of installing and maintaining sustainable landscapes, and a full cost analysis of the negative costs to the environment of conventional landscapes, and will be supported by extension outreach materials and training sessions. Optimal fertility usage and rates for several container grown nursery crops will be determined. Plant water requirements of several popular container-grown nursery crops will be compared with suitable replacement native plant selections. Water conserving irrigation scheduling based on water requirement for those plants will be determined, as well as plant growth and quality changes in response to water conserving irrigation schedules.
Project Methods
This portion of the project will evaluate alternatives to plastic nursery containers and develop protocols for sustainable production of ornamental plants. Research will be conducted at several sites located throughout the southern, eastern and Midwestern U.S. A representative selection of native herbaceous perennials, small woody shrubs, and trees will be used. A core group of 4 species will be identified and grown by each partner in this proposal to create a core set of shared data, while other species will be grown to match native setting of each institution. Research on containers will include assessments of the manufacturing process of biodegradable, compostable, and plantable pots to determine their carbon footprint, evaluating the direct and indirect costs of integrating these containers in mechanized production systems. A variety of commercially available biodegradable pots will be tested made from materials such as rice straw, coconut/coir fiber, feathers, wood pulp, peat moss, manure, clay (earth), and bio-plastics. A sustainable production system for landscape trees, shrubs and perennials will be developed and evaluated against standard nursery production practices for the ability to produce high quality, marketable plants, economic costs, and carbon and water use efficiencies. The carbon footprint of nursery potting systems will be assessed to estimate greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalents) generated under various conservation practices. The effect of biodegradable and plantable pots on plant vigor and development will be assessed for different plant species. Plant growth parameters taken will include height, width, fresh and dry weights, and leaf area.

Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Owners, managers and employees in the US and Kentuckynursery and greenhouse industries. Horticulturists and Agricultural Economists engaged in programs related to the nursery and greenhouse industries. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In-service training for agricultural and horticultural county extension agents were conducted in 2014 and 2014. Six presentations and published abstracts at professional meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated in multiple-day, annual green industry educational programs in Kentucky. Fifteen articles were published in the Kentucky Nursery News, the industry trade magazine, What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Kentucky data resulting from the S-1051 project collected from a national survey and from an economic impact study for the U.S. Green Industry were used to characterize the Kentucky Green Industry in 2013 and determine its impact on the Commonwealth's economy. The majority of Kentucky firms had both wholesale and retail sales with 33 percent of total sales being wholesale. Seventy percent of the firms responding sold in wholesale markets, and 76 percent had retail sales. This breakdown between wholesale and retail sales for Kentucky firms has remained similar over the past three 5-year survey periods. Of firms responding to the 2013 survey, 67 percent of total sales were at the retail level, which was significantly higher than the Appalachian region (26%) and nationally (40%). The average annual sales reported by Kentucky respondents was $1.7 million per firm. Seventy-nine percent of Kentucky firms responding had annual sales less than $250,000. Approximately 16 percent of total sales by Kentucky grower respondents were from deciduous shade or flowering trees in 2013, compared to 12 percent in 2008 and 42 percent in 2003. Containerized plants comprised 79 percent of total sales in 2013, compared to 57 percent in 2008 and 39 percent in 2003. Forty-three percent of annual wholesale sales for Kentucky industry respondents in 2013 were to landscape firms while this had been 78 percent in 2008 and 67 percent in 2003. The percentage of total sales to home centers had grown to 30 percent in 2013 from less than 1 percent in 2008 and 2003. More than 51 percent of total sales of Kentucky respondents in 2013 were through in-person orders, down from 2008 and 2003. Kentucky survey respondents spent an average of 7 percent of their total 2013 annual sales in advertising, compared to 3 percent in the Appalachian region and 4 percent nationally. More than 52 percent of Kentucky respondents in 2013 used water from municipal sources and constituted 80 percent of average water use for these firms. Thirty-eight percent of the all firms responding irrigated from natural surface water and 26 percent used water from wells. Kentucky's Green Industry in 2013 directly supported 18,821 jobs and generated $1.1 billion in value added and $2.0 billion output impacts to the state's economy, based on total sales of $1.5 billion. The total output impact was $96.65 million for nursery and greenhouse crop production, $797.6 million for horticultural services, $254.98 million for lawn and garden equipment manufacturing, $211.0 million for the wholesale trade, and $623.2 million for retail trade sectors. The Kentucky Green Industry is obviously an important element of Kentucky's economy, and is present throughout the state. The diverse nature of the industry limits its visibility compared to some industries; therefore, it is important to recognize ad to communicate these contributions. Data presented here can be used to engage governmental, business, and agricultural industry leaders in conversations about the needs and opportunities for the industry. Component input materials and activities of model nursery production systems were analyzed using life cycle assessment methods. The propagation-to-landscape GWP for field-grown, 5-cm caliper Acer rubrum L. (red maple), Picea pungens Engelm. (colorado blue spruce) and Cercis canadensis L. (redbud) and 0.9-m Judd viburnum (Viburnum x juddi Rehder) and a 0.6-m 'Densiformis' yew (Taxus x media Rehder) shrubs were reported as 20.9 (adjusted for more inclusive fuel and weighted sequestration during production), 13.6, 13.7, 3.16 and 3.22 kg CO2e, respectively. The farm gate and propagation-to-landscape GWP for a model pot-in-pot (PIP) production system for a 5 cm caliper Acer rubrum L. 'October Glory' in a #25 container were 10.742 and 15.653 kg CO2e, respectively. The major contributors to GWP in all these systems were also major contributors to the variable costs, except for processes that required significant labor investments. Accounting for the accumulated, weighted impact of annual sequestration of carbon and the GHG emissions during production, transplanting, and end-of-life activities, the life cycle GWPs were estimated to be -800, -431, and -63 kg CO2e for field-grown, 5-cm-caliper red maple (Ingram, 2012), blue spruce (Ingram, 2013), and redbud (Ingram and Hall, 2013) trees as well as the -11.3 and -8.2 kg CO2e for field-grown viburum (Ingram and Hall 2014a) and yew (Hall and Ingram 2015) shrubs. Analysis of nursery crop production systems using LCA has resulted in a greater understanding of the major contributing factors to GWP and variable costs. The cutting-to-gate GWP of even a container-grown evergreen shrub was estimated to be less than the accumulated, weighted impact of annual carbon sequestration. Such information will inform nursery managers for better decisions on production protocols, market area, and ways to communicate the value of their products to the consuming public. Increasing demand for groundcover plants and increasing consumer preference for more sustainable product encourage nursery crop producers and landscape management companies to assess efficiency and sustainable practices. Product and production alternatives were presented in personal surveys of commercial industry personnel and consumers to determine their willingness to pay for these attributes. A conjoint analysis revealed an affinity for both groups to purchase flats of groundcovers and preferred sedum over ajuga. Commercial buyers from larger companies were more likely to purchase plantable containers than those from smaller firms. Generally, flats of Ellepots were preferred over flats of SoilWraps and 18-count over 12-count flats by commercial buyers. Price had a negative impact on consumer willingness to pay. Consumers revealed no specific preference for the plantable containers, although preference for plastic containers declined with age and presence of children at home. Results from the analysis indicate that as cultivators and sellers of flats of groundcover plants, they should consider the different needs between commercial buyers and consumers. Regardless of purpose, customer heterogeneity should be considered when developing and promoting products to targeted market segments.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Nambuthiri, S.S. and D. L. Ingram. 2014. Evaluation of Plantable Containers for Groundcover Plant Production and their Establishment in a Landscape. HortTechnology 24(1):48-52.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and C.R. Hall. 2014 Carbon footprint and related production costs of system components for a field-grown Viburnum x juddi using life cycle assessment. J. of Environ. Hort. 32(4):175-181.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Hall, C.R. and D.L. Ingram. 2015. Carbon footprint and production costs associated with varying the intensity of production practices during field-grown shrub production. HortScience 50:402-407.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and C.R. Hall. 2015. Life cycle assessment used to determine the potential environment impact factors and water footprint of field-grown tree production inputs and processes. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 140(1):1021-107.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and C.R. Hall. 2015. Carbon footprint and related production costs of pot-in-pot system components for red maple using life cycle assessment. J. Environ. Hort. 33(3):103-109.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D. L. and C.R. Hall. 2015. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the carbon footprint of trees during production, distribution and useful life as the basis for market differentiation. In. Proc. 1st International Symposium on Horticulture Economics, Marketing and Consumer Research. Acta Horticulturae 1090: 35-38.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D. L., T.A. Woods, H. Wuyang and S.S. Nambuthiri. 2015. Willingness-to-Pay comparisons for flats of groundcovers with plantable containers  Home versus commercial buyers. HortScience 50(3):1-4.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and C.R. Hall. 2015. Comparison of carbon footprint and variable costs of selected nursery production systems for a 5-cm-caliper red maple. HortScience 50: (Accepted 9/15; In press).
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D. L., W. Dunwell and A. Hodges. 2015. Characteristics of Kentuckys Nursery and Greenhouse Industries. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-89 (revised). 7 p.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Ingram, D. L. and A. Hodges. 2015. Economic Impact of the Kentucky Green Industry. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-108 (revised).


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nursery, landscape and greenhoues enterprise managers. Academic colleagues Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Coordinated and provided in-service training for the Extension Associates in the on-farm demonstration/consultation program with annual, two-day meeting, 2014. Kentucky Extension Service Agent and County Staff Training. UK Soilless Media and Irrigation Water Tests and Their Interpretation. Presented via Lync twice - September 23 and October 21, 2014. Taught a 4-credit-hour course in the Spring 2014 Semester. PLS 597, Nursery and Floriculture Crop Management. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Kentucky Landscape Industries Annual Conference, 2014. Presentation entitled: Analyzing Nursery Operations to Improve Profitability, the Environment and Marketing Strategies. Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service. Sustainably Speaking...Summer Twilight Series for Nursery and Landscape Professionals. 2014. Presentation entitled: Carbon Footprint of Landscape Trees During Production, Distribution and Useful Life as the Basis for Climate Change Remediation, Plant Health and Market Differentiation. American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference, 2014. Presentation entitled: The relationship between costs and the carbon footprint of field-grown trees and shrubs. Extension Service Circular:Ingram, D.L. and S. Vanek. 2014. Sustainable Production Systems: Principles and Approaches for Optimizing Efficiency in Nursery and Landscape Businesses. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-110. 17 p. Report to participants in a meeting of the multi-state project, S-1051. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Complete current studies involving life cycle assessment methods to determine the carbon footprint and related costs of nursery crop production system components. Initiate new studies involving life cycle assessment methods to determine the water footprint and related costs of nusery crop production system components.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? LCA studies estimated propagation-to-gate carbon footprint (global warming potential, GWP) of a field-grown, deciduous shrub, subtracting the weighted carbon sequestration (0.916 kg CO2) during production, was 0.705 kg CO2e and the propagation-to-landscape carbon footprint of the model system was estimated to be 3.156 kg CO2e. Material production inputs contributed 66% of the 1.621 kg CO2e propagation-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and 17% of variable costs ($5.35) while equipment use contributed 16% to GHG and 6% to variable costs. A LCA study of a field-grown evergreen shrub with more intense propagation protocols found that propagation costs and GWP in the more intense model were 118% and 694% greater than for the deciduous shrub model, respectively. However, the rooted cutting only contributed 4.7% and 13.5% to the total costs and GHG emissions of the evergreen shrub at the farm gate. Nursery managers should focus on harvesting efficiencies and product transport distance as significant contributors to GWP and cost. The estimated positive impact on GWP by CO2 sequestration during a complete life cycle of the shrub, weighted over a 100-year assessment period, was 20 times greater than its propagation-to-landscape carbon footprint. The positive life cycle impact of a shrub on atmospheric CO2 reductions can be used in marketing strategies to environmentally-conscious consumers. Production protocols were developed for an 8-week cycle of ground cover production in Kentucky in 90-cm plantable containers in 12- or 18-count flats will increase groundcover availability, more sustainable landscapes, and nursery profitability. A willingness-to-pay study found that commercial buyers from larger companies were more likely to purchase plantable containers than those from smaller firms and they prefer flats of Ellepots over flats of SoilWraps and 18-count over 12-count flats.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hall, C.R. and D.L. Ingram. 2014. Production costs of field-grown Cercis canadensis L. Forest Pansy identified during life cycle assessment analysis. HortScience 49(5):1-6.


Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nursery and landscape industry professional Academic colleagues Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Urban Forestry Workshop on Carbon Footprint of Trees. North East Municipal Arborists. Chicago. November 8, 2012. Co-coordinated with Andrew Koeser from the University of IL. and spoke on carbon footprint of tree production. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In addition to the publication in refereed journals and industry newsletters, the information gained has presented at green industry conferences, regional, national and international professional horticultural conferences and website postings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Future research will include the determination of carbon footprint and cost of individual components of additional nursery production systems. The increasing critical mass of information will be presented to green industry professional, academic scholars and the general public.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research to understand how system components of the production and use of landscape plants contribute to environmental impacts such as global warming potential of greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon footprint (CF), and the economic analysis of these components is lacking and will determine the relative sustainability of nursery crop production. Life cycle assessment has been used to analyze the impact of input materials and equipment use on the global warming potential (GWP) and related costs of production system components of field-grown trees in the U.S. Midwestern states. The resulting CF of these trees at the farm gate and transplanted into the landscape can be used to increase production system efficiency and decrease the GWP impact of the product. The CF of a representative shade, evergreen and flowering tree at the farm gate and after transplanted into the landscape has been determined. CF for field-grown, 5-cm-caliper, spade-dug trees at the farm gate ranged from 2.1 to 8.1 kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and the CF of these trees planted in the landscape ranged from 9.4 to 13.7 kg CO2e. Equipment use at harvest was a major component of CF as well as the cost of production. Fifty-six to 63 percent of greenhouse gases emissions due to production practices occurred during harvest. Transport distance of the finished tree was also important. Knowledge of the positive impact of trees in the landscape through carbon sequestration, as well as the CF at the farm gate and planted into the landscape, can be the basis for differentiating products in the marketplace relative to such environmental issues. Management practices that minimize CF could be critical to purchasing decisions based on environmental issues. The weighted sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere during a normal life expectancy in reference to a100-year assessment period was estimated to be 165 to 901 kg CO2. In marketing, product differentiation is done to demonstrate the unique aspects of the product and create a sense of value. Industry participants can utilize these CF findings in developing marketing programs for plant material targeted specifically for the consumer segments identified as environmentally conscious. This research will benefit the green industry consumer by ensuring that environmentally-friendly products marketed to them in the future truly meet their “sustainability” needs and/or expectation.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ingram, D.L. 2013. Life cycle assessment to study the carbon footprint of system components for colorado blue spruce field production and use. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 138(1):1-9.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ingram, D. L. and C.R. Hall. 2013. Carbon footprint and related production costs of system components of a field-grown Cercis canadensis L. Forest Pansy using life cycle assessment. J. of Environ. Hort. 31(3): 169-176.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2013 Citation: Nambuthiri, S.S. and D. L. Ingram. 2013. Evaluation of Plantable Containers for Groundcover Plant Production and their Establishment in a Landscape. HortTechnology In Press.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ingram, D.L. 2012. Characteristics of Kentuckys Nursery and Greenhouse Industries. PR621. p 21-23.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and S. Vanek. 2013. Sustainable Production Systems: Efficient Wholesale Nursery Layout. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-109. 10p.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ingram, D. L. 2013. What do the Terms Green and Carbon Footprint Mean Anyway? Kentucky Nursery View. Volume 42/No. 4. p. 22-24.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ingram, D.L. and C.R. Hall. 2013. Horticulture Research Institute Website contributions. Use of Life Cycle Assessment to Study the Carbon Footprint of Nursery Production System Components (April 11, 2013)


Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Green Industry Research Consortium, (S-1051), represents an integrated, system-level approach to research and extension related to the nursery, greenhouse and landscaping industries. The University of Kentucky is a collaborator in that effort. Information generated from this multi-state effort has been disseminated to the Kentucky green industry via presentations at industry meetings, publications and newsletter articles. Data presented have been used by industry leaders to communicate the economic and environmental impact of the industry in Kentucky to state legislators and agricultural leaders, as well as civic groups and individual customers. PARTICIPANTS: Horticultures and Agricultural Economists collaborated on projects related to the green industry. Team members also collaborated with nursery, greenhouse and landscape service managers and owners to glean data for characterizing elements of the industry, including economic impact and carbon footprint of trees. TARGET AUDIENCES: nursery managers, greenhouse managers, landscape service providers, elected leaders, agricultural leaders, business leaders, and general population PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
In 2012, Circular HO108, Economic Impact of the Kentucky Green Industry, was published by the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service with specific Kentucky industry information from the national study on green industry economic impact. Kentucky's Green Industry in 2007 generated 20,081 jobs and accounted for $1.07 billion in value added and $1.86 billion output impacts to the state's economy, based on total sales of $2.06 billion. The total output (revenue) impacts were $677 million for the Production and Manufacturing group, $772 million for Horticultural Services and $412 million for the Wholesale and Retail Trade. Value added impacts to the economy by industry segment were $350 million for Production and Manufacturing, $440 million for Horticultural Services and $280 million for Wholesale and Retail Trade. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to study the components of a production system relative to environmental impact factors, in particular, carbon footprint (CF). Contributions of field nursery production system components to the CF, or Global Warming Potential (GWP), of a 5-cm caliper, spade-dug Colorado blue spruce tree were determined. The seed-to-landscape CF was 13.558 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), including sequestration of 9.14 kg CO2e during production. The global warming potential (GWP) from equipment use was the dominant contributor to the CF of production. Seventy-six percent of the GWP investments during field production occurred at harvest. Querying the model revealed, among other things, that adding one year to the field production phase would add less than 3% to the seed-to-landscape GWP of the product. The weighted positive impact of C sequestration during a 50-year life in the landscape was 593 kg CO2e. Following its useful life, take down and disposal would result in emissions of 148 kg CO2e, resulting in a net positive, life-cycle impact on atmospheric CO2 of approximately 431 kg CO2e.

Publications

  • Ingram, D.L. 2012. Life cycle assessment to study the carbon footprint of system components for colorado blue spruce field production and landscape use. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. (In press)
  • Ingram, D. L. and A. Hodges. 2012. Economic Impact of the Kentucky Green Industry. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-108. Ingram, D.L. 2012. Life Cycle Analysis provides information to consumers and producers about ways to reduce the carbon footprint of a product or process. Climate Change Factsheet CC-10-12. 3 p.
  • Ingram, D.L. 2012. Economic Impacts of the Kentucky Green Industry. Special Feature. Kentucky Nursery Views. Volume 42 (2). p 10-12.
  • Ingram, D.L. 2012. Economic Impacts of the Kentucky Green Industry: Wholesale and Retail Trade. Kentucky Nursery Views. Volume 42(3). p 16-17.
  • Ingram, D.L. 2012. Life cycle assessment of a field-grown red maple tree to estimate its carbon footprint components. Intl. J. Life Cycle Assess. 17(4): 453-462.
  • Ingram, D.L. and T. Fernandez. 2012. Life cycle assessment: A tool for determining the environmental impact of horticultural crop production. HortTechnology 22(3):275-278.


Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Green Industry Research Consortium, (S-1051), represents an integrated, system-level approach to research and extension related to the nursery, greenhouse and landscaping industries. The University of Kentucky is a collaborator in that effort. In 2011, Circular HO89, Characteristics of the Kentucky Nursery and Greenhouse Industry, was published by the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service with specific Kentucky industry information from the 2009 national nursery and greenhouse survey. According to the survey, Kentucky's sales were more than $147 million in 2008. A series of three articles were published on the subject in consecutive Kentucky Nursery View issues. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been described relative to its potential application to the green industry. It can be an effective tool to study the components of a production system relative to environmental impact factors. A journal article has been submitted for review that describes this tool and how it can be used to study horticulture production systems. An Extension Circular (HO-90) was published by the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service to describe this tool to nursery, greenhouse and landscape service firm managers and to suggest how to interpret the results from LCA. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nursery and greenhouse owners and managers are primary among those expected to benefit from information generated by the Green Industry Consortium. Other researchers and Extension personnel are targeted for information exchange and validation of the results from the research being conducted. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
LCA was used to study the contributions of field nursery production system components to the carbon footprint, or Global Warming Potential (GWP), of a 5-cm caliper, spade-dug red maple tree. Diesel consumption by equipment used for field operations accounted for approximately 70% of the carbon footprint during the production phase, and 70% of that occurs at harvest. Accounting for eco-services from sequestered CO2 during production, the carbon footprint of the tree from cutting to transplanting in the landscape was estimated to be approximately 5 kg CO2 equivalent. Transporting and transplanting the finished tree would add 7 kg CO2e to the carbon footprint of the tree, based on expected shipping distances. LCA has proven to be a valuable tool in analyzing the individual input components in the field production of a shade tree. The results of such studies will allow nursery mangers to make informed decisions about the various elements of the operation. For example, if shipping distance for the finished product was reduced by one-third, there would be a 28% reduction in the carbon footprint. If the cull rate was 10% instead of the 5% assumed in the analysis, the carbon footprint of each marketable tree would increase by 6%. Consumers can be informed about the relative GWP impact of system components such as transportation distance and make informed purchasing decisions driven by environmental concerns.

Publications

  • Ingram, D. L. W. Dunwell and A. Hodges. 2011. Characteristics of Kentucky s Nursery and Greenhouse Industries. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-89. 7 p.
  • Ingram, D.L. and T. Fernandez. 2011. Life Cycle Assessment: Implications for the Green Industry. KY Cooperative Extension Service Circular HO-90. 4 p.
  • Ingram, D. L. and W. Dunwell. 2011. The general characteristics of Kentuckys nursery and greenhouse industries. Nursery Views. Volume 41 (2). p 18-19.
  • Ingram, D. L. and W. Dunwell. 2011. Kentucky s nursery and greenhouse industries: Employment and Product Forms. Nursery Views. Volume 41 (3). p 18-19.
  • Ingram, D. L. and W. Dunwell. 2011. Kentucky s nursery and greenhouse industries: Markets, Marketing and Advertisement. Nursery Views. Volume 41 (4). p 14-15.