• Authors:
    • Navichoc, D.
    • Soto, M.
    • Rivera, L.
    • Killian, B.
  • Source: Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, B
  • Volume: 3
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: The issue of carbon emissions has been on the corporate sustainability agenda for some years. For those working in agricultural supply chains, the challenges remain significant, given the diverse direct and indirect emissions occurring throughout the value chain. This study determines the carbon footprint of the supply chain of Costa Rican coffee exported to Europe, using best practice methodology to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, it was found that the total carbon footprint across the entire supply chain is 4.82 kg CO 2e kg -1 green coffee. The carbon footprint of the processes in Costa Rica to produce 1 km of green coffee is 1.77 kg CO 2e. The processes within Europe generate 3.05 kg CO 2e kg -1 green coffee. This carbon footprint is considered as "very high intensity". This paper also identifies the sources of the most intense emission and discusses mitigation possibilities on which efforts must be focused.
  • Authors:
    • Bonsch, M.
    • Dietrich, J. P.
    • Popp, A.
    • Lotze-Campen, H.
    • Krause, M.
  • Source: Land Use Policy
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Conservation of undisturbed natural forests, which are important for biodiversity, carbon storage, and other ecosystem services, affects agricultural production and cropland expansion. We analyze the economic impacts of undisturbed natural forest conservation programs on agriculture and the magnitude of avoided deforestation and avoided carbon emissions in the tropics. We apply a global agricultural land use model to estimate changes in agricultural production costs for the period 2015-2055. Our forest conservation scenarios reflect two different policy goals: either maximize forest carbon storage or minimize impacts on agricultural production. In all the scenarios, the economic impacts on agriculture are relatively low. Production costs would increase due to forest conservation by a maximum of 4%, predominantly driven by increased investments in agricultural productivity increase. We also show regional differences in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia, due to different growth rates in food demand, land availability and crop productivity. The area of avoided deforestation does not exceed 1.5 million ha yr(-1) in the period 2015-2055, while avoided carbon emissions reach a maximum of 1.9 Gt CO2 per year. According to our results on the potential changes in agricultural production costs, undisturbed natural forest conservation appears to be a low-cost option for greenhouse gas emission reduction. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Mosier, A. R.
    • Chen, D.
    • Lam, S. K.
    • Roush, R.
  • Source: Scientific Reports
  • Volume: 3
  • Issue: July
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Concerns about increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), have raised worldwide interest in the potential of agricultural soils to be carbon (C) sinks. In Australia, studies that have quantified the effects of improved management practices in croplands on soil C have generally been inconclusive and contradictory for different soil depths and durations of the management changes. We therefore quantitatively synthesised the results of Australian studies using meta-analytic techniques to assess the technical and economic feasibility of increasing the soil C stock by improved management practices. Our results indicate that the potential of these improved practices to store C is limited to the surface 0-10 cm of soil and diminishes with time. None of these widely adopted practices is currently financially attractive under Australia's new legislation known as the Carbon Farming Initiative.
  • Authors:
    • La Scala, N.,Jr.
    • Panosso, A. R.
    • Padovan, M. P.
    • Moitinho, M. R.
  • Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE CIENCIA DO SOLO
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue: 6
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: The soil is one of the main C pools in terrestrial ecosystem, capable of storing significant C amounts. Therefore, understanding the factors that contribute to the loss of CO2 from agricultural soils is critical to determine strategies reducing emissions of this gas and help mitigate the greenhouse effect. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of soil tillage and sugarcane trash on CO2 emissions, temperature and soil moisture during sugarcane (re) planting, over a study period of 15 days. The following managements were evaluated: no-tillage with crop residues left on the soil surface (NTR); without tillage and without residue (NTNR) and tillage with no residue (TNR). The average soil CO2 emission (FCO2) was lowest in NTR (2.16 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)), compared to the managements NTNR (2.90 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)) and TNR (3.22 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)), indicating that the higher moisture and lower soil temperature variations observed in NTR were responsible for this decrease. During the study period, the lowest daily average FCO2 was recorded in NTR (1.28 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)), and the highest in TNR (6.08 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)), after rainfall. A loss of soil CO2 was lowest from the management NTR (367 kg ha(-1) of CO2-C) and differing significantly (p<0.05) from the managements NTNR (502 kg ha(-1) of CO2-C) and TNR (535 kg ha(-1) of CO2-C). Soil moisture was the variable that differed most managements and was positively correlated (r = 0.55, p<0.05) with the temporal variations of CO2 emission from NTR and TNR. In addition, the soil temperature differed (p<0.05) only in management NTR (24 degrees C) compared to NTNR (26 degrees C) and TNR (26.5 degrees C), suggesting that under the conditions of this study, sugarcane trash left on the surface induced an average rise in the of soil temperature of 2 degrees C.
  • Authors:
    • Murgueitio Restrepo, E.
    • Ibrahim, M.
    • Montagnini, F.
  • Source: BOIS ET FORETS DES TROPIQUES
  • Issue: 316
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Cattle production is part of people's cultures and is important for human nutrition and welfare. However, conventional cattle ranching is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon sequestration in vegetation and soils can be enhanced and GHG emissions reduced with controlled grazing, appropriate pasture species, and the use of silvopastoral systems (SPS), which combine trees and shrubs with pastures. In addition, SPS contribute to climate change adaptation thanks to the ameliorating effects of trees on air temperatures that dry out pastures, as well as improving animal well-being and productivity. Several types of SPS are commonly found in the agricultural landscapes of Latin America. Intensive SPS (ISPS), where fodder banks are combined with woody species planted at high density, produce better yields than conventional ranching thanks to higher cattle density and better weight gain by the animals. Research in Colombia, Nicaragua and Costa Rica shows that SPS have more carbon in aboveground biomass and in soils than degraded pastures. In SPS, the timber or fruit trees, either planted or from natural forest regeneration, increases carbon stocks and sequestration rates. Native tree species can be used in SPS with good results in terms of productivity, soil restoration, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. The use of SPS contributes to carbon sequestration in trees and in soils, while establishing forest plantations and conserving secondary forests increase carbon sequestration and storage at the landscape level. SPS and especially ISPS can contribute to climate change mitigation because their net GHG emissions can be negative. In Latin America, successful ISPS are being scaled up to regional levels. Incentives such as Payments for Environmental Services along with technical assistance can stimulate the adoption of SPS, thus contributing to climate change mitigation while preserving rural livelihoods.
  • Authors:
    • Oyerinde, A.
    • Chuwang, P.
    • Oyerinde, G.
  • Source: The Journal of Plant Protection Sciences
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Insect response to rise in atmospheric temperature and carbon dioxide differ from one region to the other. The latest assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts an increment in mean atmospheric temperature from 1.1 to 6.4°C toward the year 2100 with equally increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2). Such climatic changes could profoundly affect insect's population on essential crops. This study was conducted during the 2010 and 2011 cropping season at the University of Abuja Teaching and Research Farm (Nigeria) in order to determine the impacts of climate change on the population of insects associated with cowpea production in the region. The result showed an increase in the number of taxa encountered on the cowpea field from 21 to 31 orders of insect in the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons, respectively. Also, no significant difference was established in the forms of destructions recorded at the various growth stages of the cowpea plant in the two seasons. Therefore the advent of increased fauna on cowpea established in this study portrayed a need to find possible ways to reduce the emission of Greenhouse gases in the region in order to ameliorate the effects of induced global warming on cowpea production in the country and also provide effective control of the identified pest in order to maintain or stall resurgence.
  • Authors:
    • Polprasert, C.
    • Patthanaissaranukool, W.
    • Englande, A.
  • Source: Applied Energy
  • Volume: 102
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: This study aimed to evaluate energy and carbon equivalences (CE) associated with palm oil milling and to evaluate sustainability alternatives for energy consumption. Appropriate ways to reduce carbon emissions were also evaluated. A field survey was carried out to quantify the input and output of energy and materials following the conceptual framework of a carbon-balanced model (CBM), which exclude other non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Survey results indicate that the electrical energy consumption for daily mill start-up averaged 18.7 +/- 5.4 kWh/ton Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs). This energy is equivalent to 114.4 +/- 33.2 kWh/ton Crude Palm Oil (CPO) which was found to be offset by that generated in the mills using palm fiber as a solid fuel. Currently, organic residues contained in the wastewater are anaerobically converted to methane. The methane is used as fuel to generate electricity and sold to an outside grid network at a generation rate of 8.1 +/- 2.1 kWh/ton FFB. Based on the CBM approach, carbon emissions observed from the use of fossil energy in palm oil milling were very small; however, total carbon emission from oil palm plantation and palm oil milling were found to be 12.3 kg CE/ton FFB, resulting in the net carbon reduction in CPO production of 2.8 kg CE/ton FFB or 53.7 kg CE/ha-y. Overall, the sum of C-reduction was found 1.2 times greater than that of C-emission. This figure can be increased up to 5.5, if all biomass by-products are used as fuel to generate electricity only. The full potential for carbon reduction from palm oil milling is estimated at 0.94 kW of electric power for every hectare of plantation. This equates to a quantity of 68 kg CE reduced per ton of FFB. Thus, utilization of palm oil biomass can have a significantly high potential as a resource to be used for climate change mitigation by reducing carbon emissions. The findings of this work can be used as a template for policy makers to use in assessing and planning their energy programs. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Pellegrino Cerri,Carlos Eduardo
    • Galdos,Marcelo Valadares
    • Nunes Carvalho,Joao Luis
    • Feigl,Brigitte Josefine
    • Cerri,Carlos Clemente
  • Source: Scientia Agricola
  • Volume: 70
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Strategies to mitigate climate change through the use of biofuels (such as ethanol) are associated not only to the increase in the amount of C stored in soils but also to the reduction of GHG emissions to the atmosphere. This report mainly aimed to propose appropriate methodologies for the determinations of soil organic carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in agricultural phase of the sugarcane production. Therefore, the text is a piece of contribution that may help to obtain data not only on soil carbon stocks but also on greenhouse gas emissions in order to provide an accurate life cycle assessment for the ethanol. Given that the greenhouse gas value is the primary measure of biofuel product quality, biorefiners that can show a higher offset of their product will have an advantage in the market place.
  • Authors:
    • Salokhe, V. M.
    • Taewichit, C.
    • Soni, P.
  • Source: Agricultural Systems
  • Volume: 116
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Farm mechanization has been progressively increasing in Thailand for the past decades. Consumption and abuse of energy intensive inputs, machinery and agro-chemicals is increasingly propagated into agricultural production systems. Effects of energy intensive input utilization and farm technologies are directly associated especially with farm economic and atmospheric issues. This warrants the need of energy input-output analyses coupled with its environmental dimension. This paper presents the energy input-output analyses of different agricultural activities and fresh pond-culture (polyculture), for which data were collected from 46 rainfed integrated agricultural production systems (IAPSs) of 281 farm plots surveyed. Total energy consumption including non-renewable energy input (NREI), direct and indirect energy input, and system efficiency are calculated and compared for different crops. Resource-wise energy input utilization and energy consumed by farm operations are also discussed for different crops. Further, this study simultaneously relates energy consumption in agricultural production systems associated with their corresponding greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission - presented in terms of total carbon dioxide equivalent (CO(2)e). Results reveal noticeable variations in energy consumption and CO(2)e emissions from various agricultural production activities. The study reveals that the maximum energy consumer is cassava (32.4 GJ ha(-1)). Major energy input consumption for all productions are indicated by fossil fuel (diesel oil) as fresh pond-culture depended on fish feed. Transplanted rice provides the highest CO(2)e emission (1112 kg CO(2)e ha(-1)) among crops, in which more than 50% is contributed by methane (CH4).
  • Authors:
    • Venkateswarlu, B.
    • Rao,V. U. M.
  • Source: Climate Change Modeling, Mitigation, and Adaptation
  • Year: 2013