Reducing Carbon Footprint of Agriculture—Can Organic Farming Help to Mitigate Climate Change?

Małgorzata Holka, Jolanta Kowalska () and Magdalena Jakubowska
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Małgorzata Holka: Department of Organic Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Institute of Plant Protection—National Research Institute, Władysława Węgorka 20, 60-318 Poznań, Poland
Jolanta Kowalska: Department of Organic Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Institute of Plant Protection—National Research Institute, Władysława Węgorka 20, 60-318 Poznań, Poland
Magdalena Jakubowska: Department of Monitoring and Signalling of Agrophages, Institute of Plant Protection—National Research Institute, Władysława Węgorka 20, 60-318 Poznań, Poland

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: In the face of a changing climate, intensive efforts are needed for limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C. Agricultural production has the potential to play an important role in mitigating climate change. It is necessary to optimize all of the agricultural practices that have high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among the plant production processes, mineral fertilization is of the greatest importance in the formation of the carbon footprint (CF) of crops. There are many possibilities for reducing GHG emissions from the application of fertilizers. Further benefits in reducing the CF can be obtained through combining tillage treatments, reduced and no-till technologies, and the cultivation of catch crops and leguminous plants. Organic farming has the potential for reducing GHG emissions and improving organic carbon sequestration. This system eliminates synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and thus could lower global agricultural GHG emissions. Organic farming could result in a higher soil organic carbon content compared to non-organic systems. When used together with other environmentally friendly farming practices, significant reductions of GHG emissions can be achieved.

Keywords: plant production systems; environmental effects; greenhouse gas emissions; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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