Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate
Rice–wheat rotation is a widely adopted multiple-cropping system in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a key factor in regulating crop yield; however, only a few studies have considered the impact of annual N application on the yield, environmental impacts, and economic profi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/1/151 |
| _version_ | 1797344845959790592 |
|---|---|
| author | Yulin Yang Xiaohu Liu Yinglong Chen Qiang Xu Qigen Dai Huanhe Wei Ke Xu Hongcheng Zhang |
| author_facet | Yulin Yang Xiaohu Liu Yinglong Chen Qiang Xu Qigen Dai Huanhe Wei Ke Xu Hongcheng Zhang |
| author_sort | Yulin Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rice–wheat rotation is a widely adopted multiple-cropping system in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a key factor in regulating crop yield; however, only a few studies have considered the impact of annual N application on the yield, environmental impacts, and economic profits of rice–wheat rotation systems. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in the Jiangsu Province from 2020 to 2022. The rice and wheat seasons included six and five N fertilizer application rates, respectively (Rice: 0, 180, 240, 300, 360, and 420 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>; Wheat: 0, 180, 240, 300, and 360 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>), combined to form a total of 30 treatments. Life-cycle assessment was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of rice–wheat rotation under different N application treatments, using area, yield, and economic profit as functional units. Ten environmental impact categories were selected, including global warming. The results showed that grain yield did not consistently increase with an increase in N application, and the annual yield was the highest when 300 and 240 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> (R300W240 treatment) was applied in the rice and wheat seasons, respectively. The area-based weighting index of the R300W240 treatment ranked 20th among the 30 treatments, while the yield- and profit-based weighting indices were the lowest among the 30 treatments, decreasing by 14.9% and 28.7%, respectively, compared to the other treatments. The R300W240 treatment was the optimal annual N application strategy for rice–wheat rotation. Among the 10 environmental impacts considered, urea production contributed significantly to over eight environmental impacts, whereas the pollutant losses caused by its application contributed significantly to six environmental impacts. These findings reveal the dependence of the rice–wheat rotation system on the unsustainable use of N fertilizer and indicate that N fertilizer management practices should be further optimized to improve the environmental sustainability of grain production in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:08:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d073964c907449af908a72888a338e49 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:08:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-d073964c907449af908a72888a338e492024-01-26T14:26:04ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952024-01-0114115110.3390/agronomy14010151Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application RateYulin Yang0Xiaohu Liu1Yinglong Chen2Qiang Xu3Qigen Dai4Huanhe Wei5Ke Xu6Hongcheng Zhang7Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaRice–wheat rotation is a widely adopted multiple-cropping system in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a key factor in regulating crop yield; however, only a few studies have considered the impact of annual N application on the yield, environmental impacts, and economic profits of rice–wheat rotation systems. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in the Jiangsu Province from 2020 to 2022. The rice and wheat seasons included six and five N fertilizer application rates, respectively (Rice: 0, 180, 240, 300, 360, and 420 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>; Wheat: 0, 180, 240, 300, and 360 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup>), combined to form a total of 30 treatments. Life-cycle assessment was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of rice–wheat rotation under different N application treatments, using area, yield, and economic profit as functional units. Ten environmental impact categories were selected, including global warming. The results showed that grain yield did not consistently increase with an increase in N application, and the annual yield was the highest when 300 and 240 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> (R300W240 treatment) was applied in the rice and wheat seasons, respectively. The area-based weighting index of the R300W240 treatment ranked 20th among the 30 treatments, while the yield- and profit-based weighting indices were the lowest among the 30 treatments, decreasing by 14.9% and 28.7%, respectively, compared to the other treatments. The R300W240 treatment was the optimal annual N application strategy for rice–wheat rotation. Among the 10 environmental impacts considered, urea production contributed significantly to over eight environmental impacts, whereas the pollutant losses caused by its application contributed significantly to six environmental impacts. These findings reveal the dependence of the rice–wheat rotation system on the unsustainable use of N fertilizer and indicate that N fertilizer management practices should be further optimized to improve the environmental sustainability of grain production in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/1/151rice–wheat rotationannual nitrogen managementglobal warmingenvironmental impactlife cycle assessment |
| spellingShingle | Yulin Yang Xiaohu Liu Yinglong Chen Qiang Xu Qigen Dai Huanhe Wei Ke Xu Hongcheng Zhang Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate Agronomy rice–wheat rotation annual nitrogen management global warming environmental impact life cycle assessment |
| title | Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate |
| title_full | Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate |
| title_short | Environmental Impact Assessment of Rice–Wheat Rotation Considering Annual Nitrogen Application Rate |
| title_sort | environmental impact assessment of rice wheat rotation considering annual nitrogen application rate |
| topic | rice–wheat rotation annual nitrogen management global warming environmental impact life cycle assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/1/151 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yulinyang environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT xiaohuliu environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT yinglongchen environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT qiangxu environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT qigendai environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT huanhewei environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT kexu environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate AT hongchengzhang environmentalimpactassessmentofricewheatrotationconsideringannualnitrogenapplicationrate |