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Agronomy
Special Issues
The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprints of Crops Production
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The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprints of Crops Production

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 7629

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kun Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Interests: C/N/Water footprint
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reactive nitrogen loss have always been hot issues in the context of global environmental change. Agriculture comprises 10~12% global anthropogenic GHGs, with direct non-CO2 GHGs emissions from agriculture contributing as much as 56% of  global amount of non-CO2 GHGs. Meanwhile, it was estimated that NH3 volatilization and NOx emissions from farmland account for 43% and 8.7% of the total global emissions, while agricultural non-point source pollution contributes 75% (N) of the water pollution load. Carbon footprint and nitrogen footprint are important environmental indicators to characterize the direct and indirect GHG and reactive nitrogen emissions over the entire life cycle of a product or activity. Assessing the carbon and nitrogen footprints of agricultural production and consumption at the site, regional, national, and global scales can provide a clear understanding of the role of agriculture in mitigating global environmental change.

Dr. Kun Cheng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • global change
  • agricultural system
  • greenhouse gas
  • reactive nitrogen
  • environment footprint

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3765 KiB  
Article
Effect of Nano-Bubble Irrigation on the Yield and Greenhouse Gas Warming Potential of Greenhouse Tomatoes
by Hongjun Lei, Wenbo Wang, Yuqi Liang, Zheyuan Xiao, Hongwei Pan, Luyang Wang and Mengyuan Du
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 2917; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122917 - 27 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1135
Abstract
Nano-bubble irrigation, as a new irrigation technology, can deliver fertilizer-mixed oxygen-enriched water to the root zone of crops, representing a new means for increasing crop yield and carbon sequestration and emission reduction. To systematically analyze the effects of nano-bubble irrigation on crop yield, [...] Read more.
Nano-bubble irrigation, as a new irrigation technology, can deliver fertilizer-mixed oxygen-enriched water to the root zone of crops, representing a new means for increasing crop yield and carbon sequestration and emission reduction. To systematically analyze the effects of nano-bubble irrigation on crop yield, soil aeration, and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as evaluating its contribution to the net greenhouse warming potential (NGWP) in greenhouse agriculture, this study was conducted in greenhouse facilities in Zhengzhou, China and focused on tomato plants. A 2-factor, 2-level, completely randomized trial of nitrogen application (low N1: 120 kg/hm2 and normal N2: 180 kg/hm2), conventional irrigation, and nano-bubble irrigation (C: 5 ppm and A: 15 ppm) was conducted. Compared with conventional irrigation, crop yield increased by 18.94% and 16.36% (p < 0.05), CO2 emission by 10.72% and 5.71% (p < 0.05), N2O emission by 29.76% and 35.74% (p < 0.05), and CH4 uptake by 300.67% and 327.67% (p < 0.05) under nano-bubble irrigation. The nano-bubble irrigation increased the crop yield, thus significantly improving the NGWP sink for greenhouse gases. The low-nitrogen and regular-nitrogen treatments increased NGWP by 22.69% and 14.52%, respectively (p < 0.05). This suggests that nano-bubble irrigation can significantly improve soil aeration, increase tomato yield and biomass, and significantly improve crop carbon sequestration. In the future, nano-bubble irrigation can be used along with soil amendments to achieve a more efficient increase in yield and enhance the ability of farmland to sequester carbon and reduce emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprints of Crops Production)
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19 pages, 4011 KiB  
Article
Maize/Peanut Intercropping Reduces Carbon Footprint Size and Improves Net Ecosystem Economic Benefits in the Huang-Huai-Hai Region: A Four-Year Study
by Zhenhui Yan, Jianguo Wang, Ying Liu, Zhaoyang You, Jialei Zhang, Feng Guo, Huaxin Gao, Lin Li and Shubo Wan
Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1343; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051343 - 10 May 2023
Viewed by 2225
Abstract
The dual challenges of global climate change and reductions in the amount of arable land represent growing threats to the stability of global human populations. Efforts to further optimize cropping systems to maximize yields while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions in limited land areas [...] Read more.
The dual challenges of global climate change and reductions in the amount of arable land represent growing threats to the stability of global human populations. Efforts to further optimize cropping systems to maximize yields while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions in limited land areas have thus emerged as a focus in modern agriculture. Cereal-intercropping management strategies may represent a promising approach to simultaneously addressing both of these challenges in China. We aimed at comprehensively assessing changes in yield, carbon footprint, and net ecosystem economic benefit when transitioning from maize/peanut monoculture to intercropping in a field-scale study in an effort to aid in the development of low-carbon intercropping systems that do not have an adverse impact on Chinese grain yields. Beginning in June of 2018, a randomized complete block design with three treatments was used to initiate this study: (1) peanut monoculture (P), (2) maize monoculture (M), and (3) maize/peanut intercropping (MP). We compared yield, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint and net ecosystem economic benefit. Results over four years showed that the land equivalent ratio associated with MP was greater than 1. All three of these cropping systems were net CO2 and N2O sources as well as net CH4 sinks, with MP generating significantly (p < 0.05) lower N2O and CO2 flux as well as smaller seasonal N2O and CO2 emissions relative to M. MP additionally reduced the carbon footprint associated with this cropping system by 11.11–31.65% and 30.37–43.62% relative to M and P, respectively. Consistently, MP treatment resulted in respective 70.69% and 26.25% net ecosystem economic benefit (NEEB) increases relative to the M and P conditions while simultaneously enhancing energy use efficiency. In summary, MP systems have potential economic benefit with lower environmental risk alternative to traditional peanut or maize monocropping systems. Converting from peanut or maize monocropping systems to MP systems practices contributed to improved farmland use efficiency, clean production and increased farmers’ income in an agricultural system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprints of Crops Production)
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15 pages, 2526 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon Footprint of Green Tea Produced by Smallholder Farmers in Shaanxi Province of China
by Mingbao He, Yingchun Li, Shixiang Zong, Kuo Li, Xue Han and Mingyue Zhao
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020364 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3706
Abstract
China is a major producer of green tea, and most of its green tea production comes from small farmers. Accessing the carbon emission status of this group can provide data support and a decision-making basis for the realization of carbon neutrality in China’s [...] Read more.
China is a major producer of green tea, and most of its green tea production comes from small farmers. Accessing the carbon emission status of this group can provide data support and a decision-making basis for the realization of carbon neutrality in China’s tea industry. In this study, the life cycle assessment method was used to analyze the carbon footprint of green tea produced by smallholder farmers in Liugou Village, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. The results showed that the carbon emission intensity of green tea for its entire life cycle was 32.90 kg CO2eq kg−1 dry tea, and the carbon emission intensities of its consumption, processing, and cultivation were 14.90, 7.94, and 6.97 kg CO2eq kg−1, respectively. In the processing stage, emissions during steaming and drying accounted for 57%. The use of coal, complicated processing procedures, and older equipment were the main reasons for the high emissions in the processing stage. In the cultivation process, emissions mainly came from fertilizer production and its application in the field. The energy consumption of boiling water resulted in high carbon emissions in the consumption stage. This study suggests that building a scientific fertilization system for tea gardens, optimizing processing equipment and energy utilization structure, and cultivating the concept of low-carbon consumption will be the keys to promoting smallholder farmers to reduce carbon emissions. This study further emphasizes that we should focus on carbon emissions caused by the production processes of small farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Carbon and Nitrogen Footprints of Crops Production)
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