Coupling life-cycle assessment and the RothC model to estimate the carbon footprint of green manure-based wheat production in China

Yao, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Dabin; Yao, Pengwei; Zhao, Na; Liu, Na; Zhai, Bingnian; Zhang, Suiqi; Li, Yangyang; Huang, Duan; Cao, Weidong; Gao, Yajun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.028

Cited by 39 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The observed increase in the SOC stock was primarily attributed to the large C input derived from crop residues and manure (Figure 3), due to organic input is an important source of SOC (Liu et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2015, 2018; Yao et al., 2017). In this study, the wide range of cumulative C input was present across different treatments, including GM planting and incorporation, S and farmyard M and their combinations (Tables 2and 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Green manure planting during the summer fallow period after the winter wheat season is an alternative method used to remedy wasting natural resources and improve soil fertility. Because GM is an excellent cover crop that uses sunlight and heat, it is able to decrease soil erosion and suppress weeds, and which has also been used primarily as a secure organic fertilizer source providing nutrient for subsequent crops in traditional agriculture (Yao et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short‐term effects of combined organic amendments on soil organic carbon sequestration in a rain‐fed winter wheat system

Liang

et al. 2021

Agronomy Journal

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Organic input is a widely recognized amendment for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and soil quality improvement. A short-term (2-yr) field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of green manure (GM) planting, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) straw return and farmyard manure application, and their interactions on SOC sequestration in a rain-fed winter wheat system in Northwest China. Ten combinations of two cultivation practices, conventional wheat monoculture (G0) and green manure-winter wheat rotation (G), and five fertilization methods during the wheat season: (a) no basal fertilization (B0), (b) basal chemical fertilization (B), (c) basal chemical fertilization plus wheat straw return (B + S), (d) basal chemical fertilization plus manure application (B + M) and (e) basal chemical fertilization plus wheat straw return and manure application (B + S+ M) were tested. Compared with theircontrols, M, S, and G increased the SOC stock in the 0-to-10-cm soil layer by an average of 20.7, 6.8, and 6.3%, respectively, and increased in the 10-to-20-cm soil layer by an average of 15.8, 4.7, and 6.6%, respectively. Manure exhibited a 55.9% carbon sequestration efficiency (CSE) in the 0-to-20-cm soil layer, followed by GM and wheat straw which exhibited CSEs of 27.7 and 19.3%, respectively. Nevertheless, combinations of G, M, and S, increased the SOC stock in cumulative manners without significant interactions. Positive relationships (P < .05) existed between the SOC sequestration and cumulative C input in both G0 and G. Therefore, G, S, and M, and their combinations were all effective for SOC sequestration in this cropping system.The G + M+ S was optimal for promoting SOC sequestration over the short term.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐term effects of combined organic amendments on soil organic carbon sequestration in a rain‐fed winter wheat system

Liang

et al. 2021

Agronomy Journal

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“…The most common FU encountered (24%) was related to area, followed by a simple product characteristic such as mass (dry matter of fresh matter), quantity of protein (kg) or gross energy output of determined products (Dalgaard et al 2006;Nikièma et al 2011;Knudsen et al 2014a;Karlsson et al 2015;Yao et al 2017;Cai et al 2018). Among these studies, the main focus was to assess the environmental impact of producing a specific crop within the crop rotation, such as wheat (Barton et al 2014;Yao et al 2017) or switchgrass for bioenergy (Ashworth et al 2015). When study goals went beyond assessment of a single product, to assess rotation level efficiency, the FU most commonly used was based on area and time, such as production quantity from 1 ha over 1 year or over the duration of a rotation cycle.…”

Section: Definition Of Goal and Functional Unitmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This perception is challenged by Preissel et al (2015) who studied 53 legume rotation models in Europe and concluded that 66% of them present competitive gross margins compared with nonlegume systems. In addition, Zander et al (2016) highlight the importance of external effects of legumes which are usually not taken into economic consideration, such as the enhancement of biodiversity and improvement of soil quality and soil organic carbon specifically (Yao et al 2017;Goglio et al 2018b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representing crop rotations in life cycle assessment: a review of legume LCA studies

Costa

Chadwick

Saget

et al. 2020

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose There is an imperative to accurately assess the environmental sustainability of crop system interventions in the context of food security and climate change. Previous studies have indicated that the incorporation of legumes into cereal rotations could reduce overall environmental burdens from cropping systems. However, most life cycle assessment (LCA) studies focus on individual crops and miss environmental consequences of inter-annual crop sequence and nutrient cycling effects. This review investigates state-of-the-art representation of inter-crop rotation effects within legume LCA studies. Methods A literature review was undertaken, starting with a search for all peer-reviewed articles with combinations of ‘LCA’, ‘legumes’ and ‘rotations’ or synonyms thereof. In total, 3180 articles were obtained. Articles were screened for compliance with all of the following requirements: (i) reporting results based on LCA or life cycle inventory methodology; (ii) inclusion of (a) legume(s); (iii) the legume(s) is/are analysed within the context of a wider cropping system (i.e. rotation or intercropping). Seventy articles satisfying these requirements were analysed. Results and discussion We identified three broad approaches to legume LCA. Most studies involved simple attributional LCA disregarding important interactions across years and crops in rotations. N-fertilizer reduction through legume residue N carryover is either disregarded or the benefit is attributed to the following crop in such studies, whilst N leaching burdens from residues are usually attributed to the legume crop. Some studies applied robust allocation approaches and/or complex functional units to enable analysis of entire rotation sequences, accounting for nutrient cycling and break crop effects. Finally, a few studies applied consequential LCA to identify downstream substitution effects, though these studies did not simultaneously account for agronomic effects of rotational sequence changes. Conclusions We recommend that LCA studies for legume cropping systems should (i) evaluate entire rotations; (ii) represent nitrogen and ideally carbon cycling; (iii) for attributional studies, define at least two functional units, where one should encompass the multifunctional outputs of an entire rotation and the other should enable product footprints to be calculated; (iv) for CLCA studies, account for both agronomic changes in rotations and markets effects; (v) include impact categories that reflect hotspots for agricultural production.

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“…For instance, Zhang et al [22] reported that inorganic fertilization enhanced the soil C input by 2.5 to 5.0 Mg ha −1 in Southern China. GM enhanced the SOC stock by 14-24% as compared to the fallow [23]. In the meta-analysis study, McDaniel et al [24] reported that compared to fallow, cover crops increased the SOC sequestration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substitution of Inorganic Nitrogen Fertilizer with Green Manure (GM) Increased Yield Stability by Improving C Input and Nitrogen Recovery Efficiency in Rice Based Cropping System

et al. 2019

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A long-term field experiment was carried out (since 2008) for evaluating the effects of different substitution rates of inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer by green manure (GM) on yield stability and N balance under double rice cropping system. Treatments included, (1) N0 (no N fertilizer and no green manure); (2) N100 (recommended rate of N fertilizer and no green manure); (3) N100-M (recommended rate of N fertilizer and green manure); (4) N80-M (80% of recommended N fertilizer and green manure); (5) N60-M (60% of recommended N fertilizer and green manure); and (6) M (green manure without N fertilization). Results showed that, among all treatments, annual crop yield under N80-M treatment was highest. Crop yield did not show significant differences between N100-M and N80-M treatments. Substitution of different N fertilizer rates by GM reduced the yield variability index. Compared to the N0 treatment, yield variability index of early rice under N100-M, N80-M, and N60-M treatments was decreased by 11%, 26%, and 36%, respectively. Compared to the N0 treatment, yield variability index of late rice was decreased by 12%, 38%, 49%, 47%, and 24% under the N100, N100-M, N80-M, N60-M, and M treatments, respectively. During period of 2009–2013 and 2014–2018, nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) was highest under N80-M treatment and N balance was highest under N100 treatment. NRE of all treatments with GM was increased over the time from 2009–2013 to 2014–2018. All treatments with GM showed increasing trend of SOC over the years. Substitution of N fertilizer by GM also increased C inputs and soil C:N ratio compared to the N100 and N0 treatments. Boosted regression model indicated that C input, N uptake and AN were most influencing factors of crop yield. Thus, we concluded that N fertilization rates should be reduced by 20% under GM rotation to attain high yield stability of double rice cropping system through increasing NRE and C inputs.

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Coupling life-cycle assessment and the RothC model to estimate the carbon footprint of green manure-based wheat production in China

Cited by 39 publications

References 79 publications

Short‐term effects of combined organic amendments on soil organic carbon sequestration in a rain‐fed winter wheat system

Short‐term effects of combined organic amendments on soil organic carbon sequestration in a rain‐fed winter wheat system

Representing crop rotations in life cycle assessment: a review of legume LCA studies

Substitution of Inorganic Nitrogen Fertilizer with Green Manure (GM) Increased Yield Stability by Improving C Input and Nitrogen Recovery Efficiency in Rice Based Cropping System

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