IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v8y2019i2p32-d204396.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Net Global Warming Potential of Spring Wheat Cropping Systems in a Semiarid Region

Author

Listed:
  • Mark A. Liebig

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

  • David W. Archer

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

  • Jonathan J. Halvorson

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

  • Holly A. Johnson

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

  • Nicanor Z. Saliendra

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

  • Jason R. Gross

    (US Forest Service, Silt, CO 81652, USA)

  • Donald L. Tanaka

    (Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554, USA)

Abstract

Investigations of global warming potential (GWP) of semiarid cropping systems are needed to ascertain agriculture’s contributions to climate regulation services. This study sought to determine net GWP for three semiarid cropping systems under no-tillage management in the northern Great Plains of North America: spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)—fallow (SW-F), continuous spring wheat (CSW) and spring wheat—safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius L.)—rye ( Secale cereale L.) (SW-S-R). Management records, coupled with published carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission estimates, were used to determine emissions from production inputs and field operations. Static chamber methodology was used to measure soil-atmosphere methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes over a 3-year period and changes in profile soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks were determined over 18 years. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with production inputs and field operations were greatest for CSW, intermediate for SW-S-R and lowest for SW-F. All cropping systems were minor CH 4 sinks (≤0.5 kg CH 4 -C ha −1 yr −1 ) and moderate N 2 O sources (1.0 to 2.8 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 yr −1 ). No differences in SOC stocks were observed among cropping systems ( P = 0.78), nor did SOC stocks change significantly from baseline conditions ( P = 0.82). Summing across factors, net GWP was positive for SW-F and CSW, implying net greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to the atmosphere, while net GWP for SW-S-R was negative, implying net GHG uptake. Net GWP, however, did not differ among cropping systems ( P = 0.17). Management practices that concurrently improve N use efficiency and increase SOC stocks are needed for semiarid cropping systems to be net GHG sinks.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark A. Liebig & David W. Archer & Jonathan J. Halvorson & Holly A. Johnson & Nicanor Z. Saliendra & Jason R. Gross & Donald L. Tanaka, 2019. "Net Global Warming Potential of Spring Wheat Cropping Systems in a Semiarid Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:2:p:32-:d:204396
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/2/32/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/2/32/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berti, Marisol & Johnson, Burton & Ripplinger, David & Gesch, Russ & Aponte, Alfredo, 2017. "Environmental impact assessment of double- and relay-cropping with winter camelina in the northern Great Plains, USA," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1-12.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Martinez, Sara & Alvarez, Sergio & Capuano, Anibal & Delgado, Maria del Mar, 2020. "Environmental performance of animal feed production from Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz: Influence of crop management practices under Mediterranean conditions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    2. Teodora Stillitano & Emanuele Spada & Nathalie Iofrida & Giacomo Falcone & Anna Irene De Luca, 2021. "Sustainable Agri-Food Processes and Circular Economy Pathways in a Life Cycle Perspective: State of the Art of Applicative Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-28, February.
    3. Jankowski, Krzysztof J. & Sokólski, Mateusz, 2021. "Spring camelina: Effect of mineral fertilization on the energy efficiency of biomass production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    4. Sara Martinez & Jose Luis Gabriel & Sergio Alvarez & Anibal Capuano & Maria del Mar Delgado, 2021. "Integral Assessment of Organic Fertilization on a Camelina sativa Rotation under Mediterranean Conditions," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Piernicola Masella & Incoronata Galasso, 2020. "A Comparative Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Study of Bio-Energy Feedstock from Camelina sativa , an Italian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Cecchin, Andrea & Pourhashem, Ghasideh & Gesch, Russ W. & Lenssen, Andrew W. & Mohammed, Yesuf A. & Patel, Swetabh & Berti, Marisol T., 2021. "Environmental trade-offs of relay-cropping winter cover crops with soybean in a maize-soybean cropping system," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    7. Xiang, Mingtao & Yu, Qiangyi & Li, Yan & Shi, Zhou & Wu, Wenbin, 2022. "Increasing multiple cropping for land use intensification: The role of crop choice," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).

    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:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:2:p:32-:d:204396. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.