Strategies of Climate Change Mitigation in Agriculture Plant Production—A Critical Review

Cezary A. Kwiatkowski, Małgorzata Pawłowska (), Elżbieta Harasim () and Lucjan Pawłowski
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Cezary A. Kwiatkowski: Department of Herbology and Plant Cultivation Techniques, University of Life Science, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Małgorzata Pawłowska: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Elżbieta Harasim: Department of Herbology and Plant Cultivation Techniques, University of Life Science, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Lucjan Pawłowski: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 20-618 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: Agriculture is the second-highest, after energy use, source of greenhouse gas emissions, which are released from soils and animal digestion processes and as a result of energy consumption at various stages of agricultural production. However, changes in the management of agricultural systems may mitigate the negative impact of this sector on the atmosphere and climate. This paper presents a literature review on energy consumption in agriculture and the potential of agricultural crop production to assist in mitigation of global warming by increasing absorption of CO 2 from the atmosphere. The issue was considered in the context of managing the cultivation of main, catch and cover crops. The potential of carbon sequestration in the above- and below-ground biomass of selected crops was analyzed. It was stated that, depending on the species, main crops can sequester up to 113 CO 2 ha −1 yr −1 in whole biomass, while catch or cover crops can sequester up to 14.80 CO 2 ha −1 yr −1 and 0.17 CO 2 ha −1 yr −1 in the above- and below-ground biomass, respectively. The benefits of the spread of catch or cover crops, such as improvement of soil quality (leading to an increase in primary crop yield by even as much as 65%) and a phytosanitary effect, as well as the barriers that limit the use of catch crops, including the problems with matching crop species to climate and soil conditions and the risk of reducing farmers’ income, were considered. The results of the review show that catch crops can assimilate an additional amount of 4 to 6 tonnes CO 2 ha −1 yr −1 , and thus, spreading of catch crops is an effective way to reduce the climate impact of agriculture.

Keywords: energy consumption; plant production; main crops; catch crops; carbon farming; climate change; carbon sequestration; soil organic carbon (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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