IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v122y2013icp73-78.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life cycle assessment of the potential carbon credit from no- and reduced-tillage winter wheat-based cropping systems in Eastern Washington State

Author

Listed:
  • Zaher, U.
  • Stöckle, C.
  • Painter, K.
  • Higgins, S.

Abstract

Integrated environmental and economic assessment studies are required to support tillage reduction decisions. In this paper, carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions from winter wheat-based cropping systems were evaluated in eastern Washington, USA, using computer simulation. System boundaries were expanded to consider fertilizer production and use of machinery in a standard life cycle assessment (LCA) study. Variations in rainfall, tillage intensity and crop rotation were considered. Potential earnings from carbon credits obtained by converting to reduced and no-till management were evaluated and compared with the corresponding changes in farm budgets. No-till increased the average soil carbon sequestration by 0.5, 0.3, 0.2Mg-Cha−1yr−1 (30-year average) in high, middle and low rainfall zones, respectively. On-farm N2O emissions contributed 60–70% of the total CO2-equivalent emissions (CO2eha−1yr−1) in high and middle rainfall scenarios and 30–40% in low rainfall scenarios. Production of fertilizers contributed 13±3% of total emissions. Emissions from fuel consumption varied across sites due to differences in machinery use with different topography, tillage, soils and number of fallow years. Reduced tillage systems are more profitable in the moderate and high rainfall zones with 2011 crop price and input cost assumptions but they are less profitable in the drier rainfall zone. Even a more inclusive accounting with LCA that includes credits for reductions in N2O emissions, fuel usage and fertilizer production was insufficient to compensate for the lower returns. With the net market price assumption of 2.48$CO2e−1ha−1yr−1, the CO2e credits for reducing tillage ranged from 0.27 to 1.63$CO2e−1ha−1yr−1 across the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Zaher, U. & Stöckle, C. & Painter, K. & Higgins, S., 2013. "Life cycle assessment of the potential carbon credit from no- and reduced-tillage winter wheat-based cropping systems in Eastern Washington State," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 73-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:122:y:2013:i:c:p:73-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2013.08.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X1300098X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2013.08.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sangwon Suh, 2005. "Developing a sectoral environmental database for input-output analysis: the comprehensive environmental data archive of the US," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 449-469.
    2. Stockle, Claudio O. & Martin, Steve A. & Campbell, Gaylon S., 1994. "CropSyst, a cropping systems simulation model: Water/nitrogen budgets and crop yield," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 335-359.
    3. Sergey Paltsev & John M. Reilly & Henry D. Jacoby & Angelo C. Gurgel & Gilbert E. Metcalf & Andrei P. Sokolov & Jennifer F. Holak, 2007. "Assessment of U.S. Cap-and-Trade Proposals," NBER Working Papers 13176, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. John M. Antle & Seojin Cho & S. M. Hossein Tabatabaie & Roberto O. Valdivia, 2019. "Economic and environmental performance of dryland wheat-based farming systems in a 1.5 °C world," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 165-180, February.
    2. Tavella, Elena, 2016. "How to make Participatory Technology Assessment in agriculture more “participatory”: The case of genetically modified plants," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 119-126.
    3. Adrienne L. Contasti & Alexandra G. Firth & Beth H. Baker & John P. Brooks & Martin A. Locke & Dana J. Morin, 2023. "Balancing Tradeoffs in Climate-Smart Agriculture: Will Selling Carbon Credits Offset Potential Losses in the Net Yield Income of Small-Scale Soybean ( Glycine max L.) Producers in the Mid-Southern Uni," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 252-275, December.
    4. Rose A Graves & Ryan D Haugo & Andrés Holz & Max Nielsen-Pincus & Aaron Jones & Bryce Kellogg & Cathy Macdonald & Kenneth Popper & Michael Schindel, 2020. "Potential greenhouse gas reductions from Natural Climate Solutions in Oregon, USA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-30, April.
    5. Meena, Ram Swaroop & Pradhan, Gourisankar & Kumar, Sandeep & Lal, Rattan, 2023. "Using industrial wastes for rice-wheat cropping and food-energy-carbon-water-economic nexus to the sustainable food system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Xiaobo Xue Romeiko & Zhijian Guo & Yulei Pang & Eun Kyung Lee & Xuesong Zhang, 2020. "Comparing Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Spatially Explicit Life Cycle Global Warming and Eutrophication Impacts from Corn Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joseph E. Aldy & William A. Pizer, 2009. "Issues in Designing U.S. Climate Change Policy," The Energy Journal, , vol. 30(3), pages 179-210, July.
    2. Yunfeng Li & Quanqing Feng & Dongwei Li & Mingfa Li & Huifeng Ning & Qisheng Han & Abdoul Kader Mounkaila Hamani & Yang Gao & Jingsheng Sun, 2022. "Water-Salt Thresholds of Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) under Film Drip Irrigation in Arid Saline-Alkali Area," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Webster, Mort & Sue Wing, Ian & Jakobovits, Lisa, 2010. "Second-best instruments for near-term climate policy: Intensity targets vs. the safety valve," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 250-259, May.
    4. McFarland, James R. & Paltsev, Sergey & Jacoby, Henry D., 2009. "Analysis of the Coal Sector under Carbon Constraints," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 404-424, May.
    5. Badini, Oumarou & Stockle, Claudio O. & Jones, Jim W. & Nelson, Roger & Kodio, Amadou & Keita, Moussa, 2007. "A simulation-based analysis of productivity and soil carbon in response to time-controlled rotational grazing in the West African Sahel region," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 87-96, April.
    6. Last Name, First Name, 2009. "Distributional Impacts of Carbon Pricing Policies in the Electricity Sector," RFF Working Paper Series dp-09-43, Resources for the Future.
    7. De Cian, Enrica & Tavoni, Massimo, 2012. "Do technology externalities justify restrictions on emission permit trading?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 624-646.
    8. den Elzen, Michel & Höhne, Niklas & van Vliet, Jasper, 2009. "Analysing comparable greenhouse gas mitigation efforts for Annex I countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 4114-4131, October.
    9. Jensen, Henning Tarp & Jensen, Hans Grinsted & Gylling, Morten, 2009. "Adoption of GM Food Crop Varieties in the European Union," Conference papers 331886, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    10. Pala, M. & Stockle, C. O. & Harris, H. C., 1996. "Simulation of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) growth under different water and nitrogen regimes in a mediterranean environment using CropSyst," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 147-163, June.
    11. Tahiri, Adel Zeggaf & Anyoji, H. & Yasuda, H., 2006. "Fixed and variable light extinction coefficients for estimating plant transpiration and soil evaporation under irrigated maize," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 84(1-2), pages 186-192, July.
    12. Cabelguenne, M. & Debaeke, P. & Bouniols, A., 1999. "EPICphase, a version of the EPIC model simulating the effects of water and nitrogen stress on biomass and yield, taking account of developmental stages: validation on maize, sunflower, sorghum, soybea," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 175-196, June.
    13. Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Montini, Anna, 2010. "Embedding the drivers of emission efficiency at regional level -- Analyses of NAMEA data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2457-2467, October.
    14. Perez, Carlos & Roncoli, Carla & Neely, Constance & Steiner, Jean L., 2007. "Can carbon sequestration markets benefit low-income producers in semi-arid Africa? Potentials and challenges," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 2-12, April.
    15. Moslener, Ulf & Sturm, Bodo, 2008. "A European Perspective on Recent Trends in U.S. Climate Policy," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-026, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    16. Claudia Kemfert, 2007. "The "Bali Convention": Flexibility of Targets and Instruments Inevitable," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 729, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Jalota, S.K. & Singh, Sukhvinder & Chahal, G.B.S. & Ray, S.S. & Panigraghy, S. & Bhupinder-Singh & Singh, K.B., 2010. "Soil texture, climate and management effects on plant growth, grain yield and water use by rainfed maize-wheat cropping system: Field and simulation study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 83-90, January.
    18. Paleari, Livia & Confalonieri, Roberto, 2016. "Sensitivity analysis of a sensitivity analysis: We are likely overlooking the impact of distributional assumptions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 340(C), pages 57-63.
    19. Gilbert Metcalf & David Weisbach, 2008. "The Design of a Carbon Tax," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0727, Department of Economics, Tufts University.
    20. Kevin A. Hassett & Aparna Mathur & Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2009. "The Incidence of a U.S. Carbon Tax: A Lifetime and Regional Analysis," The Energy Journal, , vol. 30(2), pages 155-178, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:122:y:2013:i:c:p:73-78. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.