Life Cycle Assessment of a Highly Diverse Vegetable Multi-Cropping System in Fengqiu County, China

Li Li, Wenliang Wu, Paul Giller, John O’Halloran, Long Liang, Peng Peng and Guishen Zhao
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Li Li: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Wenliang Wu: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Paul Giller: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, T23 N73K Cork, Ireland
John O’Halloran: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, T23 N73K Cork, Ireland
Long Liang: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Peng Peng: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Guishen Zhao: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Agricultural biodiversity usually leads to greater sustainability in production practices. To understand the environmental implications of the development of village-level multi-cropping in rural China, we compared the environmental impact of a highly diverse vegetable multi-cropping system to a conventional wheat/maize rotation system based on the method of life cycle assessment (LCA). Using household level cultivation data, this study examined the gate-to-gate environmental impacts of on-site cultivation practices relating to the production of 10,000 nutrient equivalent units. Results show that vegetable multi-cropping resulted in decreased average land requirement, and diesel, water and electricity usage by 69.8%, 62.2%, 71.7%, and 63.4%, respectively, while average nitrogen (Total N), phosphorus (P 2 O 5 ), and potassium (K 2 O) usage in vegetable multi-cropping systems decreased by 16.3%, 42.1%, and 75.8%, respectively. Additional corresponding effects led to a decrease in the total global warming, eutrophication, and acidification potentials from external inputs by 21.6%, 16.7%, and 16.2% of the entire system, respectively. Moreover, the midpoint human toxicity potential from pesticide usage of the vegetable multi-cropping system was lower than that of the conventional system. However, the midpoint eco-toxicity potential from pesticide usage was higher due to certain highly toxic substances, and both human and eco-toxicity potentials from heavy metals were all higher by a few orders of magnitudes. Thus, to mitigate these detrimental consequences, some related measures are proposed for sustainable practices in the future implementation of multi-cropping systems.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; multi-cropping; nutrient equivalent; biodiversity; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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