Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture

Smith, Pete; Martino, Daniel; Cai, Zucong; Gwary, D. M.; Janzen, H. H.; Kumar, Pushpam; McCarl, Bruce A.; Ogle, Stephen M.; O’Mara, F.P.; Rice, Charles W.; Scholes, Robert J.; Sirotenko, O. D.; Howden, Mark; McAllister, Tim A.; Pan, Genxing; Romanenkov, Vladimir; Schneider, Uwe A.; Towprayoon, Sirintornthep; Wattenbach, Martin; Smith, Jo

doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2184

Cited by 2,042 publications

(1,548 citation statements)

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“…Agriculture and climate change mitigation at global and UK levels Key starting points for considering agriculture and climate change are the reviews conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2005) and for the IPCC by Smith et al (2007aSmith et al ( , 2007bSmith et al ( and 2008. Globally, agriculture (livestock and crop production) accounted for 12% of human-induced GHG emissions in 2005 (Smith et al, 2007a).…”

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, agriculture (livestock and crop production) accounted for 12% of human-induced GHG emissions in 2005 (Smith et al, 2007a). But this does not take into account the contribution to GHG emissions of changes in land use (e.g.…”

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mitigation at a global level Bellarby et al (2008) estimated total global emissions of GHG by world agriculture (including land-use change emissions) to be between 8.5 and 16.5 gigatonnes (Gt) CO 2 e (carbon dioxide equivalent)/annum (IPCC, 2007b;Bellarby et al, 2008), or between 17% and 32% of all global human-induced emissions (Smith et al, 2007a;IPCC, 2007b). This compares with 12 Gt CO 2 e from the industry sector (Bernstein et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Estimates from the IPCC 2nd Assessment Report (IPCC, 1996) suggested that between 1.4 and 2.9 Gt CO 2 e/annum could be sequestered in agricultural soils, while Smith et al (2008) illustrated a total biophysical potential of mitigation of agricultural emissions of 5.5 to 6 Gt CO 2 e/annum. This would require improvements in both cropland and grazing land management, the restoration of cultivated organic soils and degraded land, changes in land use and manure management as well as reductions in direct emissions of GHGs by ruminants.…”

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emissions of N 2 O and methane by agriculture are estimated annually using agreed methodology to produce an inventory (IPCC, 2008). Smith et al (2008) showed that 'biophysical mitigation potential' varies in different parts of Europe. Departments of the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have been active in commissioning reviews and reports of ways to mitigate GHG emissions in a range of sectors with this work now being led by the UK Climate Change Committee, whose first report was published in December 2008 (Committee on Climate Change, 2008).…”

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mitigating climate change: the role of domestic livestock

Gill

Smith

Wilkinson

2010

Animal

246

180

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Livestock contribute directly (i.e. as methane and nitrous oxide (N 2 O)) to about 9% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and around 3% of UK emissions. If all parts of the livestock production lifecycle are included (fossil fuels used to produce mineral fertilizers used in feed production and N 2 O emissions from fertilizer use; methane release from the breakdown of fertilizers and from animal manure; land-use changes for feed production and for grazing; land degradation; fossil fuel use during feed and animal production; fossil fuel use in production and transport of processed and refrigerated animal products), livestock are estimated to account for 18% of global anthropogenic emissions, but less than 8% in the UK. In terms of GHG emissions per unit of livestock product, monogastric livestock are more efficient than ruminants; thus in the UK, while sheep and cattle accounted for 32% of meat production in 2006, they accounted for , 48% of GHG emissions associated with meat production. More efficient management of grazing lands and of manure can have a direct impact in decreasing emissions. Improving efficiency of livestock production through better breeding, health interventions or improving fertility can also decrease GHG emissions through decreasing the number of livestock required per unit product. Increasing the energy density of the diet has a dual effect, decreasing both direct emissions and the numbers of livestock per unit product, but, as the demands for food increase in response to increasing human population and a better diet in some developing countries, there is increasing competition for land for food v. energy-dense feed crops. Recalculating efficiencies of energy and protein production on the basis of human-edible food produced per unit of human-edible feed consumed gave higher efficiencies for ruminants than for monogastric animals. The policy community thus have difficult decisions to make in balancing the negative contribution of livestock to the environment against the positive benefit in terms of food security. The animal science community have a responsibility to provide an evidence base which is objective and holistic with respect to these two competing challenges.

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Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: the Need To Mitigate Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Mitigating climate change: the role of domestic livestock

Gill

Smith

Wilkinson

2010

Animal

246

180

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Assessing the impacts of tillage and fertilization management on nitrous oxide emissions in a cornfield using the DNDC model

et al. 2016

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Quantification and prediction of N2O emissions from croplands under different agricultural management practices are vital for sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation. We simulated N2O emissions under tillage and no‐tillage,and different nitrogen (N) fertilizer types and application methods (i.e., nitrification inhibitor, chicken manure, and split applications) in a cornfield using the DeNitrification‐DeComposition (DNDC) model. The model was parameterized with field experimental data collected in Nashville, Tennessee, under various agricultural management treatments and run for a short term (3 years) and a long term (100 years). Results showed that the DNDC model could adequately simulate N2O emissions as well as soil properties under different agricultural management practices. The modeled emissions of N2O significantly increased by 35% with tillage, and decreased by 24% with the use of nitrification inhibitor, compared with no‐tillage and normal N fertilization. Chicken manure amendment and split applications of N fertilizer had minor impact on N2O emission in a short term, but over a long term (100 years) the treatments significantly altered N2O emission (+35%, −10%, respectively). Sensitivity analysis showed that N2O emission was sensitive to mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, soil organic carbon, and the amount of total N fertilizer application. Our model results provide valuable information for determining agricultural best management practice to maintain highly productive corn yield while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Critical Zone services as environmental assessment criteria in intensively managed landscapes

Richardson

Kumar

2017

Earth's Future

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The Critical Zone (CZ) includes the biophysical processes occurring from the top of the vegetation canopy to the weathering zone below the groundwater table. CZ services provide a measure for the goods and benefits derived from CZ processes. In intensively managed landscapes, cropland is altered through anthropogenic energy inputs to derive more productivity, as agricultural products, than would be possible under natural conditions. However, the actual costs of alterations to CZ functions within landscape profiles are unknown. Through comparisons of corn feed and corn-based ethanol, we show that valuation of these CZ services in monetary terms provides a more concrete tool for characterizing seemingly abstract environmental damages from agricultural production systems. Multiple models are combined to simulate the movement of nutrients throughout the soil system, enabling the measurement of agricultural anthropogenic impacts to the CZ's regulating services. Results indicate water quality and atmospheric stabilizing services, measured by soil carbon storage, carbon respiration, and nitrate leaching, among others, can cost more than double that of emissions estimated in previous studies. Energy efficiency in addition to environmental impact is assessed to demonstrate how the inclusion of CZ services is necessary in accounting for the entire life cycle of agricultural production systems. These results conclude that feed production systems are more energy efficient and less environmentally costly than corn-based ethanol.

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Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture

Cited by 2,042 publications

References 159 publications

Mitigating climate change: the role of domestic livestock

Mitigating climate change: the role of domestic livestock

Assessing the impacts of tillage and fertilization management on nitrous oxide emissions in a cornfield using the DNDC model

Critical Zone services as environmental assessment criteria in intensively managed landscapes

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