In a recently published study, researchers offer a new tool to compare how different crops affect the environment in different regions. Named PLANTdex, the tool assesses the environmental impact of a crop by considering five key indicators — greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater biodiversity loss, marine biodiversity loss, land biodiversity loss, and water resource depletion — study co-author Mark Jwaideh, nature data and risk analytics lead at the University of Oxford, told Mongabay by email. For each crop, PLANTdex combines these five indicators into one score at a high resolution of 9 by 9 kilometers (5.6 by 5.6 miles). “This granularity enables the identification of specific regions where crop production is more or less environmentally impactful, facilitating targeted interventions and policy decisions,” Jwaideh said. “This approach enables stakeholders to pinpoint environmental hotspots to make informed decisions on crop commodity sourcing or where better management is required.” To build PLANTdex, Jwaideh and colleague Carole Dalin, an associate professor at University College London, used crop production and environment impact data from 2000 to assess 16 crops globally. While old, the year 2000 provided the most consistent data for building the tool’s models, Jwaideh said. Based on this data, the study found high PLANTdex scores, indicating high environmental impacts, for crops planted in Central America, Southern Europe, the region between the Black and Caspian seas, Southern Africa, and South, East and Southeast Asia. PLANTdex scores were lower for midwestern North America, certain areas of Central Europe and Russia, western South Asia and parts of…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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