Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand
An integrated method is required for comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts and economic benefits of rice production systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply different footprinting approaches (carbon footprint (CF), nitrogen footprint (NF), water footprint (WF)) an...
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/380 |
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| author | Noppol Arunrat Sukanya Sereenonchai Winai Chaowiwat Can Wang Ryusuke Hatano |
| author_facet | Noppol Arunrat Sukanya Sereenonchai Winai Chaowiwat Can Wang Ryusuke Hatano |
| author_sort | Noppol Arunrat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An integrated method is required for comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts and economic benefits of rice production systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply different footprinting approaches (carbon footprint (CF), nitrogen footprint (NF), water footprint (WF)) and determine the economic return on organic rice farming (OF) and conventional rice farming (CVF) at the farm scale. Over the 4-year study period (2018–2021), the results showed lower net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in OF (3289.1 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq ha<sup>−1</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) than in CVF (4921.7 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq ha<sup>−1</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>), indicating that the use of OF can mitigate the GHG emissions from soil carbon sequestration. However, there was a higher CF intensity in OF (1.17 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield) than in CVF (0.93 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield) due to the lower yield. The NF intensities of OF and CVF were 0.34 and 11.94 kg Neq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield, respectively. The total WF of CVF (1470.1 m<sup>3</sup> ton<sup>−1</sup>) was higher than that in OF (1216.3 m<sup>3</sup> ton<sup>−1</sup>). The gray water in CVF was significantly higher than that in OF due to the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Although the rice yield in OF was nearly two times lower than that in CVF, the economic return was higher due to lower production costs and higher rice prices. However, more field studies and long-term monitoring are needed for future research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:50:26Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:50:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b5e3b80b55f4fe992da36f959f303572023-11-23T18:21:01ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-02-0112238010.3390/agronomy12020380Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of ThailandNoppol Arunrat0Sukanya Sereenonchai1Winai Chaowiwat2Can Wang3Ryusuke Hatano4Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, ThailandFaculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, ThailandHydro-Informatics Innovation Division, Hydro Informatics Institute, Bangkok 10400, ThailandState Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaLaboratory of Soil Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, JapanAn integrated method is required for comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts and economic benefits of rice production systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply different footprinting approaches (carbon footprint (CF), nitrogen footprint (NF), water footprint (WF)) and determine the economic return on organic rice farming (OF) and conventional rice farming (CVF) at the farm scale. Over the 4-year study period (2018–2021), the results showed lower net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in OF (3289.1 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq ha<sup>−1</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) than in CVF (4921.7 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq ha<sup>−1</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>), indicating that the use of OF can mitigate the GHG emissions from soil carbon sequestration. However, there was a higher CF intensity in OF (1.17 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield) than in CVF (0.93 kg CO<sub>2</sub>eq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield) due to the lower yield. The NF intensities of OF and CVF were 0.34 and 11.94 kg Neq kg<sup>−1</sup> rice yield, respectively. The total WF of CVF (1470.1 m<sup>3</sup> ton<sup>−1</sup>) was higher than that in OF (1216.3 m<sup>3</sup> ton<sup>−1</sup>). The gray water in CVF was significantly higher than that in OF due to the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Although the rice yield in OF was nearly two times lower than that in CVF, the economic return was higher due to lower production costs and higher rice prices. However, more field studies and long-term monitoring are needed for future research.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/380carbon footprintnitrogen footprintwater footprintsoil organic carbonrice paddy |
| spellingShingle | Noppol Arunrat Sukanya Sereenonchai Winai Chaowiwat Can Wang Ryusuke Hatano Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand Agronomy carbon footprint nitrogen footprint water footprint soil organic carbon rice paddy |
| title | Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand |
| title_full | Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand |
| title_fullStr | Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand |
| title_short | Carbon, Nitrogen and Water Footprints of Organic Rice and Conventional Rice Production over 4 Years of Cultivation: A Case Study in the Lower North of Thailand |
| title_sort | carbon nitrogen and water footprints of organic rice and conventional rice production over 4 years of cultivation a case study in the lower north of thailand |
| topic | carbon footprint nitrogen footprint water footprint soil organic carbon rice paddy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/380 |
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