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Comparative environmental and economic assessment of greenhouse cucumber and opuntia ficus-indica cultivation in arid regions

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Abstract

Climate change and the ongoing water crisis necessitate the adoption of efficient agricultural production systems that are adapted to arid and semi-arid regions. Insisting on cultivating water-intensive products, especially cucumber, in areas facing severe water shortages has led to environmental and ecological challenges. Therefore, moving towards water-resistant species and encouraging and informing farmers are imperative to fulfill the sustainable agriculture goals. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the environmental and economic burdens of cucumber compared to Opuntia ficus-indica cultivation, a drought-tolerant plant, in an arid region of eastern Iran. The life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a functional unit of one ton of product, encompassing every stage from greenhouse construction through to harvest. The cost analysis was also carried out over a 25-year cultivation horizon. The results indicated that cucumber cultivation had 1.8 to 8.3 times higher environmental impacts across nearly all impact categories due to intensive operational inputs. Cucumber showed 4.5 times higher CO₂ emissions (2443 kg CO2 eq) and over 8 times more water demand (95.42 m3) than O. ficus-indica. For the cucumber, the operational phase was dominated by diesel and electricity consumption, which influenced global warming (90.8%), ozone formation (88.5%), and ecotoxicity potential (59–78%). Both crops showed significant impacts during the greenhouse construction phase (> 95% contribution), linked mainly to materials such as concrete and cables. The integrated analysis confirmed that the cultivation of O. ficus-indica reduced total environmental impacts by 75% compared to cucumber. Although the economic analysis highlighted a higher internal rate of return (21.49%) and a shorter payback period (6.44 years) for cucumber, its cultivation was not economically justifiable due to the nearly 10 times higher water and fuel consumption. This study suggests O. ficus-indica cultivation as a sustainable low-input alternative with a more balanced footprint in water-scarce and climate-sensitive regions.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Research Institute of Zabol, University of Zabol, Iran, and Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Iran National Science Foundation (grant No. 4038275).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, 49189-43464, Iran

    Hajar Abyar

  2. Department of Natural Ecosystems, Hamoun International Wetland Research Institute, Research Institute of Zabol, Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran

    Sahel Pakzad-Toochaei

  3. Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Zabol, Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran

    Fatemeh Einollahipeer

Authors

  1. Hajar Abyar
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  2. Sahel Pakzad-Toochaei
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  3. Fatemeh Einollahipeer
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Contributions

Hajar Abyar: investigation, conceptualization, software, methodology, formal analysis, writing–original draft. **Sahel Pakzad-Toochaei** : investigation, conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, review & editing. **Fatemeh Einollahipeer** : investigation, software, methodology, formal analysis, review & editing.

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Hajar Abyar or Sahel Pakzad-Toochaei.

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Abyar, H., Pakzad-Toochaei, S. & Einollahipeer, F. Comparative environmental and economic assessment of greenhouse cucumber and opuntia ficus-indica cultivation in arid regions.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43088-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43088-5

Keywords

  • Greenhouse cultivation
  • Life cycle assessment
  • Life cycle cost

  • Opuntia cactus
  • Global warming

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