Ecological Security Assessment of Wheat Production Systems in Iranshahr Using the Emergy Footprint Technique

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D Student of Agroechology, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Agronomy, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

10.22034/saps.2025.62471.3249

Abstract

Background and Objective: Wheat is one of the three major cereals that provide food and livelihoods for a large portion of the world's population. This has led to the maximization of input consumption in the management of wheat production systems to increase efficiency and yield. Due to the importance of the impact of production system inputs on biological capacity and its effect on production sustainability, this study attempts to evaluate the sustainability of these systems using new techniques.
Materials and methods: This research used the emergy footprint method and its derived indicators to evaluate sustainability. This method can quantify human activities' impact on the production system's ecological resources and surrounding ecosystems. The data needed for this study were collected in the crop year 2021-2022 from various sources such as interviews with farmers and managers of wheat production systems in Iranshahr, as well as information from the meteorological department.
Results: After collecting and analyzing the data, the results demonstrated that the current management of production systems has led to a reduction in biological capacity (3.85E+07 global hectares in one cropping year) compared to the emergy footprint (8.12E+08 local hectares ) in the target region. This has resulted in an ecological deficit (-7.73E+08 hectares) in wheat production systems in the region, jeopardizing the ecological security of the systems and their surroundings.
Conclusion: Considering that wheat production in Iranshahr is accompanied by an increasing ecological demand, judicious use of inputs to these systems can play a significant role in conserving ecological resources.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 July 2026

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics