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Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factsheet PDF
Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Factsheet PDF
Accounting for the greenhouse gas emissions from broadacre grain cropping involves the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology,
an internationally recognised method for assessing the environmental impact of products and production systems.
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Monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from crops at the NSW Department of Primary Industries at Tamworth.
The gases are collected in either automated chambers (above left) or static (manual) chambers (above right).
FIGURE 1 Inventory of of emissions was the production, transport the other hand, a 200kg/ha reduction in soil
greenhouse gas emissions and use of N fertiliser, with an almost 50:50 carbon would essentially double the total
associated with the production balance of pre-farm emissions (essentially production of greenhouse gas emissions
of N-fertilised wheat and canola production and transport of the fertilisers) associated with the crops.
and N-fixing field peas in the and on-farm emissions from the soil as
Wagga Wagga region of NSW. Many published scientific studies, such
carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-e/ha)
as the large Australian study of Dr Murray
(Figure 1). As a consequence, greenhouse
900 Unkovich and colleagues2, inform us that
gas emissions were lowest for field pea (no
well fertilised wheat and canola crops
800 fertiliser N). Note that the greenhouse gas
will normally produce substantially more
700 emission values in Table 1 do not include
biomass than field pea growing in the same
estimates of the carbon dioxide associated
600 soil and environment. This is because field
with possible soil carbon changes during
pea uses as much as 30% of its carbon to
500 production of these crops.
maintain N fixation activity. We would also
400 expect that the wheat would produce more
Grain cropping and changes
grain than the canola, but less residue
300 in soil carbon
carbon, because of its higher harvest index,
200 Carbon is released from soil organic matter i.e. the proportion of total above-ground
100 as carbon dioxide during mineralisation biomass that is harvested as grain.
at a C:N ratio of about 11:1, equivalent to
0 What this means is the canola is likely to
Wheat Canola Field peas 40.3 kg CO2 for each kg N (a unit of C is
Pea residue N multiplied by 44/12 to convert to CO2). The return more residue carbon back to the
same stoichiometry (measure of elements) soil than wheat with field pea returning
Fertiliser on-farm
of 11:1 applies to the incorporation of the least. Modelling indicates a potential
Fertiliser pre-farm
carbon and nitrogen into soil organic matter increase in soil carbon of 200 kg/ha for
Soil N2O emissions the 2.0 tonne/ha canola crop, an increase
during the decomposition of crop residues.
Diesel (sowing, harvesting) The relative amounts of carbon (and in soil carbon of just 20 kg/ha for the 3.0
Crop residue burning nitrogen) that are concurrently released from tonne/ha wheat and a loss of soil carbon of
Seed and immobilised into soil organic matter 200 kg/ha for the 1.8 tonne/ha field pea.
Embodied energy during a specific time-frame will determine Combining the modelled soil carbon data
Diesel (production, transport) the net changes in soil carbon. The with the total pre-crop + in-crop greenhouse
Herbicides and pesticides Department of the Environment published gas emissions allows us to more fully
guidelines for estimating changes in soil determine the carbon footprints of the three
Lime on-farm
carbon stocks with cropping are too broad crops (Table 2). Canola was the largest
Lime pre-farm
to be useful at the individual paddock level. emitter before accounting for potential
As a consequence, many of the reports of changes in soil carbon. When modelled
Case study: grain cropping LCAs for grain cropping assume a neutral changes were included in the LCAs, canola
in southern NSW effect of cropping on soil carbon, although had the smallest, rather than the largest,
The case study involves N-fertilised wheat not in all cases. Even small changes in soil carbon footprint (final column, Table 2).
and canola and N-fixing field peas in the carbon can have a profound impact on Conversely, field peas went from being the
Wagga Wagga region of south-eastern estimated greenhouse gas emissions for a smallest emitter to the largest when the soil
NSW1. Grain yields of the various crops and particular crop or cropping sequence. carbon changes were included.
inputs of fertiliser N (wheat and canola) and
legume-fixed N (field pea) are shown in Table Implications of soil carbon This is a somewhat surprising outcome
1. Using LCA methodology, the area-based changes for overall because there is a general belief that one
greenhouse gas emissions for production of greenhouse gas emissions way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
is to replace or partly replace crops that rely
the individual crops were estimated to range In our case study, as little as a 200kg/ha
on inputs of fertiliser N with nitrogen-fixing
from 530 kilograms CO2-e/ha for field peas increase in soil carbon (equivalent to 733kg
legume crops.
to 841kg CO2-e/ha for canola. Emissions CO2-e/ha) during the year in which the
cover the full 12 months, from sowing of crops were grown would essentially offset
The carbon footprint of the
the crops through to the end of the post- all other pre-farm and on-farm greenhouse
different sources of crop N
crop (summer) fallow. The greatest source gas emissions (as shown in Figure 1). On
Rather than fertiliser N having a heavy
carbon footprint, the opposite may be
true. When considered more broadly to
TABLE 2 Carbon footprints of wheat, canola and field peas include soil carbon changes, industrially
(12 months) at Wagga Wagga, NSW, including modelled changes
produced fertiliser N appears to be
in soil carbon.
highly efficient in terms of greenhouse
Total GHG emissions Changes in soil carbon Carbon footprint gas emissions. For the Wagga Wagga
Crop (kg CO2-e/ha) (kg CO2-e/ha) (kg CO2-e/ha)1
case study, 4.3kg CO2-e was emitted for
Wheat 676 +73 603
each kg fertiliser N used (Figure 2). This
Canola 841 +733 108 was substantially less than the emissions
Field peas 530 –733 1263 calculated for the N fixation inputs of the
* Calculated as column 2 minus column 3. field peas (6.2kg CO2-e/kg N). The largest
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FIGURE 2 The carbon footprints emissions by far were associated with quantify against the background levels
of the different sources of N for the mineralisation of soil organic nitrogen of around 50 tonnes carbon/ha. What is
grain cropping in the Wagga (41.3kg CO2-e/kg N). needed going forward are very precise
Wagga case study. measurements of soil carbon stocks in
The high carbon cost of liberating soil
Greenhouse gas emission (kg CO2-e/kg N) medium and long-term field experiments
45 organic nitrogen also highlights the
combined with modelling. The fact that
importance of building nitrogen into soil
40
N-fixing grain legumes may not have the
organic matter and keeping it there. For
small carbon footprint they were generally
every kilogram N built into organic matter,
35 assumed to have does not detract from
11kg of carbon is sequestered.
their economic and agronomic value
30
in grain cropping or their value in other
Final comment
25 aspects of environmental stewardship,
The readily measured greenhouse gas such management of eutrophication of
20 emissions, particularly nitrous oxide, are waterways and water sources.
less for N-fixing legumes than for N-fertilised
15 The Department of the Environment
crops such as wheat and canola.
guidelines indicate positive effects on
10
However, when emissions associated with carbon levels in soils used for grain
5 potential changes in soil carbon during the cropping of moderate to high inputs
period of cropping are included in life cycle (including fertiliser), residue retention, no-
0 assessments, the environmental impacts of tillage and use of rotations for management
Soil OM-N Legume-N Fertiliser-N
the different crops may change, at least in of diseases, pests and weeds.
terms of their carbon footprints.
Farming practices that improve the
Potential changes in soil carbon that are productivity and profitability of grain crops
likely to occur during a 12-month cropping can at the same time have positive benefits
phase will be small and very difficult to for soil carbon stocks.
Acknowledgements: Dr Graeme Schwenke, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth Dr Sally Muir, NSW Department of Primary
Industries, Tamworth.
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