**Source:** [SALCA](https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11367-023-02255-w/MediaObjects/11367_2023_2255_MOESM7_ESM.docx) — SALCAheavymetal V1.0, Table 1, category `plants_feed`. Created on 2026-03-13, regenerated on 2026-09-24.

**Dataset:** SALCA

**Licence:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

**Citation:** Nemecek T., Roesch A., Bystricky M., Jeanneret P., Lansche J., Stüssi M., Gaillard G. (2024). Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment: a method to assess the emissions and environmental impacts of agricultural systems and products. Int J Life Cycle Assess 29(3), 433–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-023-02255-w

## Assumptions

Mapping between HESTIA and SALCA crop terms is in the `salcaHeavyMetalMapping` lookup on
`Inputs & Products/crop.xlsx`. Crops with a direct equivalent in SALCA are mapped to it and marked `complete`, every other mapping is a proxy and is marked `requires validation`. These mappings come from applying the following rules in order:

| # | If the term is | SALCA term |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | a close relative of a SALCA crop, e.g., `speltWheatGrainWhole`, `durumWheatBran`, `maizeEar`, `citrusPulpDry` | that crop, e.g., `wheat grains`, `wheat bran`, `corn-cob-mix`, `fruit pomace` |
| 2 | a young or dehulled seed, or a pod, of a pulse with its own SALCA row, e.g., `peaYoungSeedWhole`, `broadBeanSeedDehulled`, `peaPod`, `soybeanPod` | that pulse: `peas`, `fava beans` or `soya beans` |
| 3 | a processed form of alfalfa forage, `alfalfaPellet` and `alfalfaMeal` | `alfalfa` |
| 4 | a cereal cut green, as hay or silage, without its own SALCA row | the closest SALCA whole plant: `ryeHay`/`ryeSilage` to `triticale whole plant`, `oatHay`/`oatSilage` to `barley whole plant`, `cerealSilage` and durum wheat to `wheat whole plant` |
| 5 | a leguminous hay or silage, including grass–legume mixtures and the leaves of leguminous trees, e.g., `redCloverHay`, `soybeanHay`, `grassCloverMixtureSilage`, `sesbanHay` | `alfalfa` |
| 6 | any other hay or silage, e.g., `ryegrassHay`, `sorghumHay`, `sorghumSilage`, `rapeseedSilage`, `buckwheatHay` | `grass` |
| 7 | a by-product of the harvested part — straw, husk, hull, shell, bran, pod husk, tops, peel, cob, fronds, prunings, or the leaves and stalks of crops grown for another part, e.g., `potatoLeaf`, `sugarBeetTop` | `co-product, mean` |
| 8 | any other harvested part — fruit, grain, seed, pod, leaf, root, tuber, flower, fibre, kernel, nut in shell | `main product, mean` |

Other assumptions from the original lookup:

- `ryeGrain` has been mapped to `triticale grains`, as SALCA has no rye grain row and triticale is a wheat–rye hybrid.
- `oatStraw` has been mapped to `barley straw`, as SALCA has no oat straw row.
- `cerealBran` has been mapped to `wheat bran`, the only bran in SALCA.
- SALCA's `grass` and `alfalfa` rows hold identical concentrations, so choosing between them for a hay or silage records intent only.
- Straw silages are straw rather than whole-plant forage, so each is mapped as the straw of the same crop is: the crop's own SALCA straw row where there is one, `barley straw` for `oatStrawSilage` as for `oatStraw`, and otherwise `co-product, mean`.

The following have not been mapped: mushrooms and mycoprotein (`...FruitingBody`, `fusariumVenenatumMycelium`), which are not plants;
gums, saps, latex, and extracts; and the nitrogen/phosphorus uptake terms.

SALCA values are given per kg dry matter, while HESTIA crop terms are per kg fresh mass, so they have been multiplied by the
`dryMatter` default property of each term in `Inputs & Products/crop.xlsx`. Where a term has no `dryMatter` default property,
no value has been estimated and all heavy metal contents are missing. Values have then been converted from the mg/kg units used in SALCA to the % units used in HESTIA.