The Role of Agriculture in Climate Change Mitigation—A Polish Example

Lucjan Pawłowski, Małgorzata Pawłowska, Cezary A. Kwiatkowski and Elżbieta Harasim
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Lucjan Pawłowski: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Małgorzata Pawłowska: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Cezary A. Kwiatkowski: Department of Herbology and Plant Cultivation Techniques, University of Life Science, 20-033 Lublin, Poland
Elżbieta Harasim: Department of Herbology and Plant Cultivation Techniques, University of Life Science, 20-033 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Biomass, a basic product of agriculture, is one of the main sinks of carbon in global cycle. Additionally, it can be used as a renewable source of energy, leading to depletion in CO 2 emissions. The paper presents the results of estimations on the current and potential share of catch crop cultivation in climate change mitigation, in Poland, where the agricultural sector plays a significant economic role. The estimation of CO 2 assimilation in biomass was performed on the basis of our own data on yields of commonly used catch crops, obtained in randomly selected 80 farms in Poland, and the content of carbon in the biomass. Calculation of energy potential of the biomass was conducted, assuming its conversion into biogas, on the basis of our own data on catch crop yields and the literature data on their biomethane potentials. The results have shown that catch crops in Poland, which are cultivated to an area of 1.177 mln ha sequestrate 6.85 mln t CO 2 yr −1 . However, considering the total area of fields used for spring crop cultivation, it is possible to increase the sequestration to 18.25 mln t CO 2 yr −1 , which constitutes about 6% of the annual emission of CO 2 in Poland. Biomethane yields per hectare of particular crops ranged from 965 to 1762 m 3 CH 4 ha −1 , and were significantly lower compared to maize, which is commonly in use in biogas plants. However, due to high biomethane potential and favorable chemical composition, catch crops can be a valuable co-substrate for the feedstocks with a high C:N ratio. The potential recovery of energy produced from aboveground biomass of catch crops harvested in Poland during the year is 6327 GWh of electricity and 7230 GWh of thermal energy. Thus, it is advisable to promote catch crops on a wide scale due to substantial environmental benefits of their cultivation.

Keywords: climate change; catch crops; carbon dioxide sequestration; bioenergy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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