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A Life Cycle Assessment of Biomass Production from Energy Crops in Crop Rotation Using Different Tillage System

Author

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  • Anna Vatsanidou

    (Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Christos Kavalaris

    (Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Spyros Fountas

    (Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Nikolaos Katsoulas

    (Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Theofanis Gemtos

    (Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece)

Abstract

A three-year experiment was carried out in Central Greece to assess the use of different tillage practices (Conventional, Reduced, and No tillage) for seedbed preparation, in a double cropping per year rotation of irrigated and rainfed energy crops for biomass production for first- and second-generation biofuel production. A life cycle assessment (LCA) study was performed for the first year of crop rotation to evaluate the environmental impact of using different tillage practices, identifying the processes with greater influence on the overall environmental burden (hotspots) and demonstrating the potential environmental benefits from the land management change. LCA results revealed that fertilizer application and diesel fuel consumption, as well as their production stages, were the hot-spot processes for each treatment. In the present study, different tillage treatments compared using mass- and area-based functional unit (FU), revealing that reduced tillage, using strip tillage for spring crop and disc harrow for winter crops, and no tillage treatment had the best environmental performance, respectively. Comparison between the prevailing in the area monoculture cotton crop with the proposed double energy crop rotation adopting conservation tillage practices, using mass and energy value FU, showed that cotton crop had higher environmental impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Vatsanidou & Christos Kavalaris & Spyros Fountas & Nikolaos Katsoulas & Theofanis Gemtos, 2020. "A Life Cycle Assessment of Biomass Production from Energy Crops in Crop Rotation Using Different Tillage System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6978-:d:404845
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michal Kulak & Thomas Nemecek & Emmanuel Frossard & Gérard Gaillard, 2013. "How Eco-Efficient Are Low-Input Cropping Systems in Western Europe, and What Can Be Done to Improve Their Eco-Efficiency?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(9), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Houshyar, Ehsan & Grundmann, Philipp, 2017. "Environmental impacts of energy use in wheat tillage systems: A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) study in Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 11-24.
    3. Quintero, J.A. & Montoya, M.I. & Sánchez, O.J. & Giraldo, O.H. & Cardona, C.A., 2008. "Fuel ethanol production from sugarcane and corn: Comparative analysis for a Colombian case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 385-399.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Václav Voltr & Martin Hruška & Luboš Nobilis, 2021. "Complex Valuation of Energy from Agricultural Crops including Local Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Evangelos Kallitsis & Anna Korre & Dimitris Mousamas & Pavlos Avramidis, 2020. "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Mediterranean Sea Bass and Sea Bream," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-11, November.

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