Impacts of chemical crop protection applications on related CO₂ emissions and CO₂ assimilation of crops

Abstract

The results highlight the importance of the positive yield effects of the CPP programme applications on the farm, resulting in additional assimilated biomass at the farm level and less land use changes at the global level, and thus lower pressure on environmentally important indicators of overall agricultural sustainability.

An assessment of the linkages between GM crop biotechnology and climate change mitigation

“…Consequently, it is not possible to estimate what portion of the measured benefits of improved farm practices are strictly due to GM crops. Kern et al 19 undertook research quantifying the net balance of emitted and assimilated CO 2 due to the application of crop protection treatments on farms. The final CO 2 balance is positive and may reach multiples of up to a factor of nearly 2000.…”

Climate-smart pest management: building resilience of farms and landscapes to changing pest threats

“…Efficient pest management can contribute to the removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere. For example, pest management approaches that lead to significantly higher crop yields also result in additional CO 2 assimilation by crop plants (Kern et al 2012). Furthermore, the long-term CSPM goal of maximising plant diversity and soil organic matter (e.g.…”

“…The examples above show that crop protection and GHG emissions are strongly linked. However, it remains difficult to generalise whether the net GHG balance of crop protection is positive or negative (Kern et al 2012), because the type of crop protection (e.g. chemical vs. biological) strongly influences both direct emissions for the treatment and the overall GHG emissions intensity per unit of food produced.…”