scholarly journals Life-cycle evaluation of nitrogen-use in rice-farming systems: implications for economically-optimal nitrogen rates

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 3159-3168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Xia ◽  
X. Yan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Taihu Lake ◽  
Oryza Sativa L ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Lake Region

Abstract. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer plays an important role in agricultural systems in terms of food yield. However, N application rates (NARs) are often overestimated over the rice (Oryza sativa L.) growing season in the Taihu Lake region of China. This is largely because negative externalities are not entirely included when evaluating economically-optimal nitrogen rate (EONR), such as only individual N losses are taken into account, or the inventory flows of reactive N have been limited solely to the farming process when evaluating environmental and economic effects of N fertilizer. This study integrates important material and energy flows resulting from N use into a rice agricultural inventory that constitutes the hub of the life-cycle assessment (LCA) method. An economic evaluation is used to determine an environmental and economic NAR for the Taihu Lake region. The analysis reveals that production and exploitation processes consume the largest proportion of resources, accounting for 77.2 % and 22.3 % of total resources, respectively. Regarding environmental impact, global warming creates the highest cost with contributions stemming mostly from fertilizer production and farming processes. Farming process incurs the biggest environmental impact of the three environmental impact categories considered, whereas transportation has a much smaller effect. When taking account of resource consumption and environmental cost, the marginal benefit of 1 kg rice would decrease from 2.4 to only 1.05 yuan. Accordingly, our current EONR has been evaluated at 187 kg N ha−1 for a single rice-growing season. This could enhance profitability, as well as reduce the N losses associated with rice growing.

scholarly journals Economic optimal nitrogen application rates for rice cropping in the Taihu Lake region of China: taking account of negative externalities

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 6281-6305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Xia ◽  
X. Yan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Taihu Lake ◽  
Oryza Sativa L ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Nitrogen Application ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Lake Region ◽  
Application Rates

Abstract. Nitrogen application rates (NARs) is often overestimated over the rice (Oryza sativa L.) growing season in the Taihu Lake region of China. This is largely because only individual nitrogen (N) losses are taken into account, or the inventory flows of reactive N have been limited solely to the farming process when evaluating environmental and economic effects of N fertilizer. Since N can permeate the ecosystem in numerous forms commencing from the acquisition of raw material, through manufacturing and use, to final losses in the farming process (e.g., N2O, NH3, NO3− leaching, etc.), the costs incurred also accumulate and should be taken into account if economically-optimal N rates (EONRs) are to be established. This study integrates important material and energy flows resulting from N use into a rice agricultural inventory that constitutes the hub of the life-cycle assessment (LCA) method. An economic evaluation is used to determine an environmental and economic NAR for the Taihu Lake region. The analysis reveals that production and exploitation processes consume the largest proportion of resources, accounting for 77.2 % and 22.3 % of total resources, respectively. Regarding environmental impact, global warming creates the highest cost with contributions stemming mostly from fertilizer production and raw material exploitation processes. Farming process incurs the biggest environmental impact of the three environmental impact categories considered, whereas transportation has a much smaller effect. When taking account of resource consumption and environmental cost, the marginal benefit of 1 kg rice would decrease from 2.4 to only 1.01 yuan. Accordingly, our current EONR has been evaluated at 185 kg N ha−1 for a single rice-growing season. This could enhance profitability, as well as reduce the N losses associated with rice growing.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Charging Concepts for Battery Electric Vehicles: A Comparison of On-Board and Off-Board Charging Systems Based on a Life Cycle Assessment

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6508
Author(s):  
Mona Kabus ◽  
Lars Nolting ◽  
Benedict J. Mortimer ◽  
Jan C. Koj ◽  
Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
System Level ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Dc System ◽  
Battery Electric Vehicles

We investigate the environmental impacts of on-board (based on alternating current, AC) and off-board (based on direct current, DC) charging concepts for electric vehicles using Life Cycle Assessment and considering a maximum charging power of 22 kW (AC) and 50 kW (DC). Our results show that the manufacturing of chargers provokes the highest contribution to environmental impacts of the production phase. Within the chargers, the filters could be identified as main polluters for all power levels. When comparing the results on a system level, the DC system causes less environmental impact than the AC system in all impact categories. In our diffusion scenarios for electric vehicles, annual emission reductions of up to 35 million kg CO2-eq. could be achieved when the DC system is used instead of the AC system. In addition to the environmental assessment, we examine economic effects. Here, we find annual savings of up to 8.5 million euros, when the DC system is used instead of the AC system.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Variation Characteristics and Driving Factors of Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Wheat–Rice Rotation Systems in the Taihu Lake Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaosong Lu ◽  
Lixia Ma ◽  
Dongsheng Yu ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Xin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Taihu Lake ◽  
Quantitative Relationship ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lake Region ◽  
Variation Characteristics ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Phosphorus And Potassium

During the past three decades, a large amount of nitrogen (N) fertilizers has been applied in the rice and wheat rotation system in the Taihu Lake region of southern China to achieve high yield, resulting in low N use efficiency (NUE). China is implementing the national strategy “fertilizer reduction with efficiency increase” to solve the serious ecological problems caused by excessive fertilization. However, the effects of N fertilizer reduction on soil fertility and their integrated effect on NUE of rice–wheat rotation systems in the Taihu Lake region are not fully understood. In this study, test fields with different soil-fertility qualities were selected in typical rice–wheat areas in the Taihu Lake region to perform a 2-year rice–wheat N fertilizer effect test to obtain the comprehensive quantitative relationship among the integrated fertility index (IFI), nitrogen application level (NA), and NUE. Through the investigation and spatial analysis of NA and IFI in the study area in 2003 and 2017, the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of NA and IFI in the study area in the past 15-year period were obtained, and this information was spatially coupled with the comprehensive quantitative relationship model of NUE to reveal the variation characteristics and driving factors of NUE in the study area. The result shows that the wheat and rice NA in the study area in 2017 increased by 35.5 and 8.4%, respectively, compared with 2003. Due to excessive fertilization, the soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content of cultivated land in the study area in 2017 was greater than that in 2003, especially soil-available phosphorus and potassium contents, whereas soil organic matter (SOM) content was reduced. The cultivated land IFI of the study area as a whole increased by 7.2% in the 15-year period. The NUE of rice and wheat rotation increased by 5.8% in 2017 compared with that of 2003 due to the improvement in crop varieties and N fertilizer yield benefits. The increases of NA and IFI both have negative correlations with the NUE improvement, and the NA increase has a greater impact. In addition, the terrain, soil type, texture, and parent material also affect the soil nutrient-preserving capability and, thus, affect the spatial variation of IFI and NUE improvement. These factors have greater influence on NUE improvement of wheat than rice. This study provides a novel and effective method for analyzing the spatial-temporal variation characteristics of NUE in the rice–wheat system and is conducive to guide precise fertilization and N fertilizer reduction based on the spatial analysis of NA with IFI and NUE.

scholarly journals Environmental Evaluation of Concrete Containing Recycled and By-Product Aggregates Based on Life Cycle Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (21) ◽  
pp. 7503
Author(s):  
Seungjun Roh ◽  
Rakhyun Kim ◽  
Won-Jun Park ◽  
Hoki Ban
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Bottom Ash ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Recycled Aggregate ◽  
Coarse Aggregates ◽  
Fine Aggregates ◽  
Depletion Potential

This study aims to compare the potential environmental impact of the manufacture and production of recycled and by-product aggregates based on a life cycle assessment and to evaluate the environmental impact and cost when they are used as aggregates in concrete. To this end, the six potential environmental impacts (i.e., abiotic depletion potential, global warming potential, ozone-layer depletion potential, acidification potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, and eutrophication potential) of the manufacture and production of natural sand, natural gravel, recycled aggregate, slag aggregate, bottom ash aggregate, and waste glass aggregate were compared using information from life cycle inventory databases. Additionally, the environmental impacts and cost were evaluated when these aggregates were used to replace 30% of the fine and coarse aggregates in concrete with a design strength of 24 MPa. The environmental impact of concrete that incorporated slag aggregate as the fine aggregates or bottom ash aggregate as the coarse aggregates were lower than that of concrete that incorporated natural aggregate. However, concrete that incorporated bottom ash aggregate as the fine aggregates demonstrated relatively high environmental impacts. Based on these environmental impacts, the environmental cost was found to range from 5.88 to 8.79 USD/m3.

Phosphorus fertilization to the wheat-growing season only in a rice–wheat rotation in the Taihu Lake region of China

2016 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Xu Zhao ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Pin-Heng Zhao ◽  
Wen-Bin Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taihu Lake ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Phosphorus Fertilization ◽  
Lake Region

scholarly journals Management of nitrogen and nitrification inhibitors for corn and wheat production on claypan soils

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Habibullah
Keyword(s):  
Growth Stage ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Nitrification Inhibitors ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
N Fertilizer Use

Use of nitrification inhibitors (NI) in agricultural production systems is considered a risk management strategy for both agricultural and environmental considerations. It can be utilized when risk of reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer use efficiency or yield, and risk of pollution from mineral N is high. Field research was conducted on corn (Zea mays L.) from 2012 to 2015 in Northeast Missouri. Treatments consisted of two application timings of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer solution [pre-emergence (PRE) and V3 growth stage], two application rates (143 and 168 kg N ha-1 ), with and without a NI (nitrapyrin), and a non-treated control which were arranged in randomized complete block design. UAN applied at a rate of 143 kg ha-1 with nitrapyrin at the V3 growth resulted in the highest yield (8.6 Mg ha-1 ). Similarly, pre-emergence application of UAN 168 kg ha-1 with nitrapyrin resulted in greater yields (7.7 Mg ha-1 ). UAN application rates and timings affected soil NO3-N and NH4-N concentration more than nitrapyrin presence or absence during the growing season. A side-dress application of a lower rate of UAN with nitrapyrin at V3 corn growth stage may be useful when risk of N losses during the growing season due to unfavorable precipitation events and other environmental variables is high. A pre-emergence application of UAN with nitrapyrin was useful and it may eliminate the need for split-application of N fertilizer later in the season. Workload on growers soon before planting or during growing season, excessive wet field conditions in early spring, reduced N fertilizer use efficiencies due to uncertain climatic conditions during growing season, and environmental concerns of pollution from - 30 - N escaping from agriculture production systems may give an incentive to growers and policy makers to increase the use of nitrapyrin in the future.

Excellent environmental performance of beet sugar production in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
pp. 161-165
Author(s):  
Bertram de Crom ◽  
Jasper Scholten ◽  
Janjoris van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Cane Sugar ◽  
Sugar Production ◽  
Beet Sugar ◽  
Glucose Syrup

To get more insight in the environmental performance of the Suiker Unie beet sugar, Blonk Consultants performed a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on beet sugar, cane sugar and glucose syrup. The system boundaries of the sugar life cycle are set from cradle to regional storage at the Dutch market. For this study 8 different scenarios were evaluated. The first scenario is the actual sugar production at Suiker Unie. Scenario 2 until 7 are different cane sugar scenarios (different countries of origin, surplus electricity production and pre-harvest burning of leaves are considered). Scenario 8 concerns the glucose syrup scenario. An important factor in the environmental impact of 1kg of sugar is the sugar yield per ha. Total sugar yield per ha differs from 9t/ha sugar for sugarcane to 15t/ha sugar for sugar beet (in 2017). Main conclusion is that the production of beet sugar at Suiker Unie has in general a lower impact on climate change, fine particulate matter, land use and water consumption, compared to cane sugar production (in Brazil and India) and glucose syrup. The impact of cane sugar production on climate change and water consumption is highly dependent on the country of origin, especially when land use change is taken into account. The environmental impact of sugar production is highly dependent on the co-production of bioenergy, both for beet and cane sugar.

scholarly journals Development of an Online Tool for Tracking Soil Nitrogen to Improve the Environmental Performance of Maize Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5649
Author(s):  
Giovani Preza-Fontes ◽  
Junming Wang ◽  
Muhammad Umar ◽  
Meilan Qi ◽  
Kamaljit Banger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Online Tool ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Soil N Availability

Freshwater nitrogen (N) pollution is a significant sustainability concern in agriculture. In the U.S. Midwest, large precipitation events during winter and spring are a major driver of N losses. Uncertainty about the fate of applied N early in the growing season can prompt farmers to make additional N applications, increasing the risk of environmental N losses. New tools are needed to provide real-time estimates of soil inorganic N status for corn (Zea mays L.) production, especially considering projected increases in precipitation and N losses due to climate change. In this study, we describe the initial stages of developing an online tool for tracking soil N, which included, (i) implementing a network of field trials to monitor changes in soil N concentration during the winter and early growing season, (ii) calibrating and validating a process-based model for soil and crop N cycling, and (iii) developing a user-friendly and publicly available online decision support tool that could potentially assist N fertilizer management. The online tool can estimate real-time soil N availability by simulating corn growth, crop N uptake, soil organic matter mineralization, and N losses from assimilated soil data (from USDA gSSURGO soil database), hourly weather data (from National Weather Service Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis), and user-entered crop management information that is readily available for farmers. The assimilated data have a resolution of 2.5 km. Given limitations in prediction accuracy, however, we acknowledge that further work is needed to improve model performance, which is also critical for enabling adoption by potential users, such as agricultural producers, fertilizer industry, and researchers. We discuss the strengths and limitations of attempting to provide rapid and cost-effective estimates of soil N availability to support in-season N management decisions, specifically related to the need for supplemental N application. If barriers to adoption are overcome to facilitate broader use by farmers, such tools could balance the need for ensuring sufficient soil N supply while decreasing the risk of N losses, and helping increase N use efficiency, reduce pollution, and increase profits.

Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheila Almeida ◽  
Philippe Loubet ◽  
Tamíris Pacheco da Costa ◽  
Paula Quinteiro ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Supply Chains
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