RESEARCH ARTICLE Water footprint and carbon footprint of the energy consumption in sunflower agroecosystems Mohammad Yousefi 1 & Mahmud Khoramivafa 2 & Abdolmajid Mahdavi Damghani 3 Received: 13 April 2016 /Accepted: 19 June 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017 Abstract The aims of this study were to assess the energy requirements, carbon footprint, and water footprint of sun- flower production in Kermanshah province, western Iran. Data were collected from 70 sunflower production agroecosystems which were selected based on random sampling method in summer 2012. Results indicated that total input and output energy in sunflower production were 26,973.87 and 64,833.92 MJha -1 , respectively. The highest share of total input energy in sunflower agroecosystems was recorded for electricity power, N fer- tilizer, and diesel fuel with 35, 19, and 17%, respectively. Also, energy use efficiency, water footprint, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and carbon footprint were calculated as 2.40, 3.41 m 3 kg -1 , 2042.091 kg CO 2eq ha -1 , and 0.875 kg CO 2eq kg -1 , respectively. 0.18 of sunflower water footprint was related to green water footprint and the re- maining 82% was related to blue water footprint. Also, the highest share of carbon footprint was related to elec- tricity power (nearby 80%). Due to the results of this study, reducing use of fossil fuel and non-renewable en- ergy resource and application of sufficient irrigation systems by efficient use of water resource are essential in order to achieve low carbon footprint, environmental challenges, and also sustainability of agricultural produc- tion systems. Keywords Energy requirements . GHG . Carbon footprint . Water footprint . Sustainable agriculture Introduction Energy use in agriculture sector has become more intensive as the Green Revolution led to the increasing applying of high yielding seeds, agrochemicals inputs as well as diesel fuel, and electricity power. It should be noted that the con- sidering limited natural resources and impact of using high amount of various energy inputs on environment and hu- man health is important to investigate energy use patterns (Hatirli et al. 2005) and their environmental impacts in agricultural systems. Energy flow analysis is usually ap- plied to evaluate the efficiency and environmental impacts of production in agroecosystems (Ozkan et al. 2004a). One of the important environmental consequences of energy consumption, particularly energy derived from fossil fuels, is greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nowadays, environ- mental issues such as global warming and air pollution are the major concerns related to the use of fossil energy (Esengun et al. 2007). Fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and methane (CH 4 ) between terrestri- al ecosystems and atmosphere are of highest importance as these GHG emissions contribute substantially to the ob- served global warming (IPCC 2007). In addition to energy flow, the study of water consumption and carbon footprint is an essential component of the environ- mental impact assessment of agricultural production systems. Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues * Mohammad Yousefi m.y6126@yahoo.com 1 Young Researcher and Elite Club, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran 2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran 3 Department of Agroecology, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Environ Sci Pollut Res DOI 10.1007/s11356-017-9582-4