No abstract

4Wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.) production contributes 55% of agricultural greenhouse gas 5 (GHG) emissions in the world. Hence any new technology with the potential to reduce the 6 GHG emissions of wetland rice could make a significant contribution to total global warming 7 mitigation by agriculture. We applied a streamlined life cycle assessment to the effect of a emissions of 1 tonne of rice varied from 1.11 to 1.57 tonne CO 2 -eq in the 100-year horizon. 19For all four treatments, soil methane (CH 4 ) was the predominant GHG emitted (comprising 20 60-67% of the total) followed by emission from on-farm machinery use. The UTLR was the 21 most effective GHG mitigation option (it avoided 29%, 16% and 6% of the total GHG

This study presents a greenhouse gas (GHG) life cycle assessment of 1 tonne of wheat transported to port in south-western Australia, including emissions from prefarm, onfarm and postfarm stages. The prefarm stage included GHG emissions from agricultural machinery, fertiliser and pesticide production. The onfarm stage included GHG emissions from diesel use, liming and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from N fertiliser applications. The postfarm stage included grain storage and transportation to the port. GHG emissions decreased from 487 to 304 kg carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) equivalents when we used regionalspecific data for N 2 O emissions instead of the IPCC default value for the application of synthetic N fertilisers to land (1.0%). Fertiliser production in the prefarm stage contributed significantly (35%) to GHG, followed by onfarm CO 2 emissions (27%) and emissions from transportation of inputs and wheat (12%). N 2 O emissions from paddock represented 9% of the total GHGs emitted. We recommend utilising regionally specific data for soil N 2 O emissions, rather than international default values, when assessing GHG for agricultural production systems.

No abstract

The Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC) is currently leading a new approach to the delivering and operating of infrastructure through a more careful examination of the carbon footprint of construction activities. Using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, this paper presents life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy analysis of the Engineering Pavilion (hereinafter referred to as Building 216), at Curtin University Western Australia. The University utilises a Building Management System (BMS) to reduce its overall operational energy consumption.This LCA analysis employed a 'mining to use' approach, in other words, the analysis takes into account all of the stages up to the utilisation stage. The life cycle GHG emissions and embodied energy of Building 216 were calculated to be 14,229 tonne CO 2 -e and 172 TJ, respectively. This paper identified the 'hotspots', or the stages in production and operation of Building 216 that were the cause of the majority of the GHG emissions. From this, proposals for further improvements in environmental management may be made. The usage stage of the building produces 63% less GHG emissions than the University average, due to the implementation of the BMS. This system has played a significant role in reducing the total embodied energy consumption of the building (i.e., 20% less than the University average).

a b s t r a c tAgriculture production contributes to global warming directly via the release of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and indirectly through the consumption of inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and herbicides. We investigated if including a grain legume (Lupinus angustifolius) in a cropping rotation, and/or applying agricultural lime to increase the pH of an acidic soil, decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wheat production in a semi-arid environment by conducting a streamlined life cycle assessment analysis that utilized in situ GHG emission measurements, rather than international default values. We also assessed the economic viability of each GHG mitigation strategy. Incorporating a grain legume in a two year cropping rotation decreased GHG emissions from wheat production by 56% on a per hectare basis, and 35% on a per tonne of wheat basis, primarily by lowering nitrogen fertilizer inputs. However, a large incentive ($93 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents reduced) was required for the inclusion of grain legumes to be financially attractive. Applying lime was profitable but increased GHG emissions by varying amounts depending upon whether the lime was assumed to dissolve over one, five or 10 years. We recommend further investigating the impact of liming on both CO 2 and non-CO 2 emissions to accurately account for its effect on GHG emissions from agricultural production.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to show how industrial ecology can facilitate the achievement of sustainable development through its incorporation into an engineering curriculum. Design/methodology/approach -A model has been developed for assessing sustainability learning outcomes due to the incorporation of the concept of industrial ecology into undergraduate and postgraduate engineering programs. This model assesses how the Engineering Faculty at Curtin University has included a core engineering unit (Engineering for Sustainable Development) and four postgraduate units (Cleaner Production Tools, Eco-efficiency, Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Technology) in its undergraduate and postgraduate engineering program, to enable modern engineering education to reflect the benefits of industrial ecology in the implementation of sustainable engineering solutions and decision-making processes. Using this model, this paper demonstrates how the syllabus, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary assignment tasks, lectures and tutorials have been developed since 2006 in order to develop the concept of industrial ecology in undergraduate and postgraduate engineering education. The paper has also analysed the different teaching methods that have been applied since 2006 to generate increased student satisfaction in these new and challenging subjects. Findings -The university environment can temper the potential outcomes from increasing the sustainability content in engineering education, given the general lack of student maturity in understanding the value of sustainability objectives together with course limitations on sustainability content and the arduous and lengthy processes involved in changing course curricula. Research limitations/implications -Since the Engineering for Sustainable Development unit has been introduced only recently, it was beyond the scope of the research to interview graduate engineers who completed this unit to investigate how they have applied the concept of industrial ecology to achieve sustainability outcomes in their workplaces. Originality/value -This research is distinct in that it investigated the implications of the incorporation of industrial ecolog...

Wetland rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.), which covers 60 million hectares in South Asia, contributes significantly to agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Mitigation strategies for GHG emissions by wetland rice production are of considerable importance. Life cycle assessment of GHG emissions can be used to assess the mitigation potential of new rice production practices such as seedling establishment on non-puddled soil. The aim of the study was firstly to determine the GHG mitigation potential of rain-fed rice production by changing to non-puddled transplanting and increased crop residue retention and secondly to determine the addition contribution of soil carbon sequestration to net GHG emissions with the altered crop establishment approach. A cradle to farm-gate Life Cycle Analysis was used to calculate GHG emissions associated with monsoon rice production in rice-based intensive cropping systems of Northwest Bangladesh. The non-puddled transplanting and low residue retention decreased the net life cycle assessment GHG emissions (CO 2 eq) by 31 % in comparison with the current puddled transplanting and increased crop residue retention. By contrast, non-puddling with increased residue retention reduced emission of the net GHG by 16 % in comparison with current puddling and low residue retention. Regardless of rice establishment practices, CH 4 was the most prevalent GHG emission comprising 63 to 67 % of the total GHGs, followed by 17-20 % from CO 2 emissions from the field. The GHG emissions tonne -1 rice after accounting for soil carbon storage ranged from 1.04 to 1.18 tonne CO 2 eq for non-puddling with low and increased crop residue retention, respectively. The inclusion of soil carbon in the footprint equation represents a 26 % reduction of estimated GHG emissions under non-puddled soil with increased residue retention. Overall, non- ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTpuddled transplanting with increased crop residue retention was an effective GHG mitigation option in wetland monsoon rice production because the increased yield and extra soil organic carbon storage more than offset its higher CH 4 emissions than with low residue retention.