Single and combined effect of tetracycline and polyethylene microplastics on two drought contrasting cultivars of Oryza sativa L. (Rice) under drought stress.

Co-exposure of tetracycline (TC) and polyethylene microplastic (MP-PE) pollution might result in more intricate effects on rice growth and grain quality. In present study, two different rice cultivars of contrasting drought tolerance, Hanyou73 (H73, drought-resistant) and Quanyou280 (Q280, drought-sensitive) were grown on MP-PE and TC-contaminated soils under drought. It was found that drought stress had different influence on TC accumulation in the two rice cultivars. H73 accumulated more TC in leaves and grains without drought stress while Q280 accumulated more TC under drought stress. Furthermore, metabolomics results demonstrated that under drought stress, about 80 % of metabolites in H73 and 95 % in Q280 were down-regulated as compared to non-drought treatments. These findings provide insights into the effects of TC and MP-PE with and without drought stress on potential risks to rice growth and grain quality, which has implications on rice production and cultivar election under multiple-stress conditions.

Resource efficiency analysis through planetary boundary-based life cycle assessment: a case study of sugarcane in Pakistan.

Purpose: Extensive agriculture activities for crop production have led to increasing environmental impacts that threaten to exceed environmentally safe limits. The purpose of this study is to analyze resource efficiency of the agri-food industry, considering the case of sugarcane production in Pakistan. Methods: A holistic approach has been applied by determining the relevant impact categories and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and linking them with Planetary Boundary-based Life Cycle Assessment (PB-LCA). Both the spatially generic and spatially resolved approaches were considered with application of different sharing principles. Results and discussion: Application of different sharing principles showed high variations in the assigned share of the safe operating space values. When taking a spatially generic approach, most of the impacts (except marine eutrophication and water consumption) were within the safe operating space for equal per capita, economic, caloric, and grandfathering sharing principles. However, all the impacts exceeded their limits considering the agri-land sharing and land use impact surpassed its budget considering the grandfathering sharing. In the spatially resolved approach, most of the impact values surpassed the available budgets. Furthermore, the failure to attain the pertinent SDG targets from a PB-LCA perspective is indicated by the exceeding of safe operating space for relevant impact categories. Conclusions: Overall, the production of sugarcane was found to be unsustainable, requiring urgent action to promote resource improvement and contain the impacts within safe limits. The developed framework enabled the evaluation of the SDGs using PB-LCA at the product level. The target-driven impact reduction values would help in achieving the targets and prioritizing the efforts by making informed decisions for reducing impacts within safe limits. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11367-023-02185-7.

Water-energy-food nexus of bioethanol in Pakistan: A life cycle approach evaluating footprint indicators and energy performance.

Water, energy, and food are the most basic and essential sectors for human welfare. However, an inextricable nexus and competition exists among these sectors. Production of molasses-based bioethanol is an interesting case resulting in the production of different food and energy materials while consuming water, energy, land, and other raw materials, throughout its life cycle. This paper briefly describes the nexus among water, energy, and food for bioethanol in Pakistan and its environmental implications. A life cycle approach has been used for evaluating four footprint categories including the carbon, ecological, water scarcity, and energy footprints along with an energy analysis of bioethanol. In comparison to conventional gasoline, bioethanol would have benefits in terms of lesser greenhouse gas emissions, better use of productive land, and superior energy performance, but, this will be at the expense of higher impacts in terms of water scarcity. Therefore, considering only a single aspect could result in inadvertent trade-offs that may go unnoticed. The quantified values would help accomplish integrated resource management along with their utilization within limits so as to be available for other uses. This study could help in developing strategies for optimal management of resources to maximize the synergies and minimize the possible trade-offs.