Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China
Pig production not only consumes large water and land, but also emits substantial greenhouse gases. Scholars have used environmental footprint, including water, land, and carbon footprints, to assess the environmental impacts of pig production. However, there is a lack of simultaneous analysis of wa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0254 |
| _version_ | 1797654596735205376 |
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| author | Huijun Wu Xinyue Chen Ling Zhang Xin Liu Songyan Jiang Yongxin Liu |
| author_facet | Huijun Wu Xinyue Chen Ling Zhang Xin Liu Songyan Jiang Yongxin Liu |
| author_sort | Huijun Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pig production not only consumes large water and land, but also emits substantial greenhouse gases. Scholars have used environmental footprint, including water, land, and carbon footprints, to assess the environmental impacts of pig production. However, there is a lack of simultaneous analysis of water, land, and carbon footprints for pig production, particularly in China, the leading pig breeding and consumption country in the world. In this study, we used environmental footprint analysis to develop a water-land-carbon footprint model for pig production system from the life cycle perspective. We also examined virtual water, land and carbon flows embedded in trade. The life cycle of pig production mainly involves feed crop cultivation, feed production, and pig breeding. Then we analyzed the water, land, and carbon footprints of the pig production in China from 1990 to 2018. The findings indicated that both the total water footprint and the total land footprint increased, whereas the total carbon footprints fluctuated over the years. All the unit footprints generally decreased. Feed crop cultivation had a significant impact on the footprints. Regarding the spatial characteristics in China, all the three total footprints were generally higher in the southeast compared to the northwest. While the unit footprints in different provinces exhibited spatial heterogeneity, primarily attributed to the different feed consumptions. Overall, the trade of feed crop shifted virtual water, land and carbon flows from the north to the south, reducing the three total footprints on the whole. To achieve a resource-saving and eco-friendly pig production in China, we proposed some potential recommendations, including improving feed crop cultivation techniques, reducing feed conversion ratio, implementing precision feeding, and managing manure. We hope not only mitigate the environmental impacts of China’s pig production, but also provide references for achieving agricultural sustainability in other regions of the world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:01:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ecbef3e67daf44db85416e26efb3360f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:01:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-ecbef3e67daf44db85416e26efb3360f2023-10-20T07:45:41ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-01181111403210.1088/1748-9326/ad0254Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in ChinaHuijun Wu0Xinyue Chen1Ling Zhang2Xin Liu3Songyan Jiang4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1751-5548Yongxin Liu5School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology , Huainan 232001, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology , Huainan 232001, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University , Nanjing 210037, People’s Republic of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology , Nanjing 210044, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology , Huainan 232001, People’s Republic of ChinaPig production not only consumes large water and land, but also emits substantial greenhouse gases. Scholars have used environmental footprint, including water, land, and carbon footprints, to assess the environmental impacts of pig production. However, there is a lack of simultaneous analysis of water, land, and carbon footprints for pig production, particularly in China, the leading pig breeding and consumption country in the world. In this study, we used environmental footprint analysis to develop a water-land-carbon footprint model for pig production system from the life cycle perspective. We also examined virtual water, land and carbon flows embedded in trade. The life cycle of pig production mainly involves feed crop cultivation, feed production, and pig breeding. Then we analyzed the water, land, and carbon footprints of the pig production in China from 1990 to 2018. The findings indicated that both the total water footprint and the total land footprint increased, whereas the total carbon footprints fluctuated over the years. All the unit footprints generally decreased. Feed crop cultivation had a significant impact on the footprints. Regarding the spatial characteristics in China, all the three total footprints were generally higher in the southeast compared to the northwest. While the unit footprints in different provinces exhibited spatial heterogeneity, primarily attributed to the different feed consumptions. Overall, the trade of feed crop shifted virtual water, land and carbon flows from the north to the south, reducing the three total footprints on the whole. To achieve a resource-saving and eco-friendly pig production in China, we proposed some potential recommendations, including improving feed crop cultivation techniques, reducing feed conversion ratio, implementing precision feeding, and managing manure. We hope not only mitigate the environmental impacts of China’s pig production, but also provide references for achieving agricultural sustainability in other regions of the world.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0254pig productionwater-land-carbonlife cycleenvironmental footprintvirtual footprint |
| spellingShingle | Huijun Wu Xinyue Chen Ling Zhang Xin Liu Songyan Jiang Yongxin Liu Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China Environmental Research Letters pig production water-land-carbon life cycle environmental footprint virtual footprint |
| title | Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China |
| title_full | Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China |
| title_fullStr | Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China |
| title_short | Spatiotemporal variations of water, land, and carbon footprints of pig production in China |
| title_sort | spatiotemporal variations of water land and carbon footprints of pig production in china |
| topic | pig production water-land-carbon life cycle environmental footprint virtual footprint |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad0254 |
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