Carbon Footprint Assessment Based on Agricultural Traceability System Records: A Case Study of Onion Production in Southern Taiwan
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Case Description
2.2. Enhanced LCA Methodology for Carbon Footprint Assessment
2.2.1. Definition of Agricultural Carbon Footprint Lifecycle
2.2.2. Data on Agricultural Traceability System Records and Carbon Footprint Activities
2.2.3. Appropriate Carbon Emissions Coefficients
3. Results
3.1. Equation for Calculating Agricultural Carbon Footprint
3.2. Carbon Footprint of the Onion Cultivation Process
3.3. Analyzing the Strengths and Weaknesses of Assessment Methods from Data Perspective
3.4. Comparison of the Carbon Footprint Assessment Methods between Modified Version and Traditional Version
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Input | Unit | Equivalent Carbon Emission (kgCO2e) | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
1. Machinery | |||
Diesel | L | 3.38 | (Ministry of Environment, R.O.C., 2023) [33] |
Petrol | L | 3.01 | (Ministry of Environment, R.O.C., 2023) [33] |
2. Water | L | 0.152 | (Taiwan Water Corporation, R.O.C., 2020) [34] |
3. Electricity | kWh | 0.509 | (Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C., 2022) [35] |
4. Fertilization | |||
Nitrogen (N) | kg | 11.2 | (Product Category Rules, JPN, 2009) [36] |
Phosphate(P2O5) | kg | 0.72 | (Product Category Rules, JPN, 2009) [36] |
Potassium (K2O) | kg | 0.3 | (Product Category Rules, JPN, 2009) [36] |
Organic Matter | kg | 0.06 | (Product Category Rules, JPN, 2009) [36] |
Farmyard manure | kg | 1.65–8.47 | (DoITPro Carbon Footprint Database, 2015) [37]; (U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database, 2012) [38] |
5. Pesticides | |||
Insecticide | L | 5.1 | Lal (2004) [39] |
Herbicide | L | 6.3 | Lal (2004) [39] |
Fungicide | L | 3.9 | Lal (2004) [39] |
6. Plastic basket | kg | 2.01 | (Ministry of Environment, R.O.C., 2023) [33] |
7. Harvesting bag | kg | 4.52 | (Ministry of Environment, R.O.C., 2023) [33] |
Parameter | Codes |
---|---|
Total carbon emissions | TCE |
Carbon footprint | CF |
Functional Unit | F |
Weight of Planting Materials | P |
Weight of Packaging Materials | B |
Volume of Energy Resources | E |
Carbon Emissions Factors of Planting Materials | C1 |
Carbon Emissions Factors of Packaging Materials | C2 |
Carbon Emissions Factors of Energy Resources | C3 |
Traditional Method | This Study’s Modified Method | |
---|---|---|
Advantage | 1. Existing official assessment results can serve as a reference. 2. Provides comprehensive insights into CF information of entire production system. 3. Results of carbon accounting activity data are relatively accurate. 4. Applicable to various products and services. | 1. Acquisition of activity data is relatively easy. 2. Streamlines the steps in CF assessments. 3. Lowers threshold for CF assessment. 4. Reduces the costs associated with CF assessment. 5. Helps enhance transparency of data in agricultural sector. 6. Quickly obtain CF assessment results. |
Disadvantage | 1. Steps involved in carbon footprint assessment are relatively cumbersome. 2. Acquiring activity data incurs high costs and time consumption. 3. Expertise required for CF assessments is high. 4. There is a lack of adaptability to variations in products and services. | 1. Data sources rely on the integrity of system records. 2. Activity data depends on supplementary and integrated external data. 3. Only applicable to various sectors involving system records. |
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Lee, Z.-Y.; Kang, Y.-H.; Chang, Y.-T.; Lin, S.-H.; Chien, C.-C.; Lee, S.-C.; Ko, W.-C. Carbon Footprint Assessment Based on Agricultural Traceability System Records: A Case Study of Onion Production in Southern Taiwan. Sustainability 2024, 16, 8817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16208817
Lee Z-Y, Kang Y-H, Chang Y-T, Lin S-H, Chien C-C, Lee S-C, Ko W-C. Carbon Footprint Assessment Based on Agricultural Traceability System Records: A Case Study of Onion Production in Southern Taiwan. Sustainability. 2024; 16(20):8817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16208817
Chicago/Turabian StyleLee, Zi-Yi, Yi-Huang Kang, Yao-Tsung Chang, Shun-Ho Lin, Chuan-Chi Chien, Shih-Chi Lee, and Wen-Ching Ko. 2024. "Carbon Footprint Assessment Based on Agricultural Traceability System Records: A Case Study of Onion Production in Southern Taiwan" Sustainability 16, no. 20: 8817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16208817
APA StyleLee, Z.-Y., Kang, Y.-H., Chang, Y.-T., Lin, S.-H., Chien, C.-C., Lee, S.-C., & Ko, W.-C. (2024). Carbon Footprint Assessment Based on Agricultural Traceability System Records: A Case Study of Onion Production in Southern Taiwan. Sustainability, 16(20), 8817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16208817