Environmental trade-offs associated with intensification methods in a pasture-based dairy system using prospective attributional Life Cycle Assessment

Chobtang, Jeerasak; McLaren, Susan; Ledgard, S. F.; Donaghy, DJ

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.134

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Farms with higher milk yield tend to produce low-GWP milk, as emissions are diluted by a larger quantity of output. However, other studies suggested that in some cases increasing milk yield does not necessarily result in reduced GHG emissions per kg of milk [19,73]. In our case, farms that used higher amount of concentrated feed were not necessarily the farms with higher milk yield and tend to lead to higher GHG emission per kg of milk.…”

Section: Indirect Sources Of Emissionscontrasting

confidence: 49%

“…Milk production studies also assess options for impact reduction. One option in developed countries is to replace typical intensive animal feeding systems with pasture-based systems [17][18][19]. Pasture based-systems reduce concentrated feed consumption [20], which causes high indirect environmental impacts, mostly because cropland production impacts are allocated to feed ingredients [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal

Morais

Teixeira

Rodrigues³

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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The dairy sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Pasture-based dairy production is sometimes credited as environmentally friendlier but is less studied than more intensive production systems. Here we characterize and calculate the carbon footprint (CF), using life cycle assessment, of the “Vacas Felizes” pasture-based milk production system, in the Azores archipelago. Impacts were determined for multiple functional units: mass, energy and nutritional content, farm, area and animal. We performed multivariate analysis to assess the contribution of production parameters to the CF. Finally, we performed a literature review to compare these results with other production systems. Results show that emissions from enteric fermentation, concentrated feed production and (organic and mineral) fertilizer application are the three main sources of impact. Milk yield is a key production feature for the determination of emissions. The average CF is 0.83 kg CO2/kg raw milk. At each milk yield level, the farms are approximately homogeneous. Compared with other studies, “Vacas Felizes” milk has a lower CF than 80 (out of 84) published CFs and on average it is approximately 32% lower.

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Section: Indirect Sources Of Emissionscontrasting

confidence: 49%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal

Morais

Teixeira

Rodrigues³

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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“…As one among a range of ecological/environmental footprints, the GHG footprint is an indicator that specifically measures the impact of agricultural production on climate change (e.g. Biesbroek et al 2014;Chobtang et al 2017;Food SCP RT 2013). Because the total net GHG emission is quantified by summing up the net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), CH 4 , and N 2 O in CO 2 mass equivalents at a given time horizon (CO 2 eq; hereinafter referred to as the CO 2 equivalents for the 100-year time horizon, if not specified), a GHG footprint is also referred to as a carbon footprint in some studies (e.g.…”

Section: Terminology and Scope Of Ghg Footprint Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

A generic methodological framework for accurately quantifying greenhouse gas footprints of crop cultivation systems

Zheng

Han

2017

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

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The greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of an agricultural system is a measure of the climate change impact potential (CCIP) exerted by the formation of its product(s). Its accurate quantification is essential for determining the green value added tax of agricultural products for food markets, which in turn may drastically change the current patterns of food consumption and production towards a product life cycle oriented economy. This paper reviews the literature regarding GHG footprints of crop cultivation systems. The review concludes that few studies have fully considered the categories/ items of net GHG emissions from an investigated crop cultivation system, and thus probably led to biases in footprint estimation. Most studies to date have even neglected changes in the soil organic carbon stocks of ecosystems with annual crops, while process-oriented biogeochemical models so far have seldom been involved in GHG footprint quantification. To help with solving these problems or drawbacks, the authors propose a generic methodological framework for quantifying GHG footprints of crop cultivation systems free from grazing, which takes into account all direct/indirect GHG contributors within a 'cradle-to-gate' life cycle. The authors then provide example values of some GHG emission factors, such as those from machinery operations and other agricultural inputs, extracted from the literature. In addition, direct measurements or model simulations of other major on-farm emission factors are emphasized. The need to further update this methodological framework in future studies, especially by adapting it to mixed crop-livestock production systems, is also indicated.

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“…It is basically depends to pasture grazing or cultivation of forage crops (Morris and Kenyon, 2014;Chobtang et al, 2017a;2017b). With the increasing water scarcity and seasonal climatic conditions that reduce production, the reutilization of wastewater is now considered essential in integrated water management (Abdoulkader et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of swine wastewater for irrigation of Tifton 85 grass: Part I-productivity and nutritional quality

Gomes¹,

Sanches²,

Dias³

et al. 2018

Aust J Crop Sci

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The use of swine wastewater (SW) for irrigation can be an excellent alternative to increase productivity and quality of pastures. This work was carried out from October 2013 to September 2014 in Dourados -MS. The objectives were evaluation of the productivity and nutritional quality of Tifton 85 grass (Cynodon spp.) under different doses of SW in the presence and absence of normal water irrigation. The experiment was set in a randomized block with split plots design, including water irrigated and non-irrigated in the main plots and four doses of SW in the subplots (75, 150, 225 and 300 m 3 ha -1 cut -1 ), with four replicates. The total forage yield and the bromatological value (crude protein, neutral and fibre detergent acid and dry matter digestibility) were evaluated. There was a significant effect of irrigation and SW doses on total dry matter yield, reaching 41.4 Mg ha -1 year -1 using the highest dose of SW (300 m 3 ha -1) and irrigation use. Irrigation also provided higher crude protein levels, increasing with linear adjustment to SW doses, reaching 17.9% in the annual average. The neutral detergent fibre and the acid detergent fibre presented lower results under irrigation, reaching 65.4 and 32.6% in the annual average, respectively, and linearly decreased using SW doses. Inverse behavior was observed in the in vitro digestibility of dry matter, which was higher under irrigation, reaching 69.5% in the annual average and presenting linear growth according to doses of SW.

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Environmental trade-offs associated with intensification methods in a pasture-based dairy system using prospective attributional Life Cycle Assessment

Cited by 17 publications

References 49 publications

Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal

Carbon Footprint of Milk from Pasture-Based Dairy Farms in Azores, Portugal

A generic methodological framework for accurately quantifying greenhouse gas footprints of crop cultivation systems

Application of swine wastewater for irrigation of Tifton 85 grass: Part I-productivity and nutritional quality

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