In Life
Cy
cle Assessment (LCA), the Life Cy
cle Inventory (LCI) provides emission data to the various environmental
compartments and Life Cy
cle Impa
ct Assessment (LCIA) determines the final distribution, fate and effe
cts. Due to the overlap between the Te
chnosphere (anthropogeni
c system) and E
cosphere (environment) in agri
cultural
case studies, it is, however,
compli
cated to establish what LCI needs to
capture and where LCIA takes over. This paper aims to provide guidan
ce and improvements of LCI/LCIA boundary definitions, in the dimensions of spa
ce and time. For this, a literature review was
condu
cted to provide a
clear overview of available methods and models for both LCI and LCIA regarding toxi
cologi
cal assessments of pesti
cides used in
crop produ
ction. Guidelines are provided to over
come the gaps between LCI and LCIA modeling, and prevent the overlaps in their respe
ctive operational spheres.
The proposed framework provides a starting point for LCA practitioners to gather the right data and use the proper models to include all relevant emission and exposure routes where possible. It is also able to predict a clear distinction between efficient and inefficient management practices (e.g. using different application rates, washing and rinsing management, etc.). By applying this framework for toxicological assessments of pesticides, LCI and LCIA can be directly linked, removing any overlaps or gaps in between the two distinct LCA steps.