Mitigation of CO 2 and N 2 O Emission from Cabbage Fields in Korea by Optimizing Tillage Depth and N-Fertilizer Level: DNDC Model Simulation under RCP 8.5 Scenario

Wonjae Hwang, Minseok Park, Kijong Cho, Jeong-Gyu Kim and Seunghun Hyun
Additional contact information
Wonjae Hwang: Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Minseok Park: Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Kijong Cho: Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Jeong-Gyu Kim: Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Seunghun Hyun: Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: In this study, we applied the Denitrification and Decomposition model to predict the greenhouse gas (GHGs; CO 2 and N 2 O) emissions and cabbage yields from 8072 cabbage fields in Korea in the 2020s and 2090s. Model outputs were evaluated as a function of tillage depth (T1, T2, and T3 for 10, 20, and 30 cm) and fertilizer level (F1, F2, and F3 for 100, 200, and 400 kg N ha −1 ) under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 climate change scenario. For both time periods, CO 2 emissions increased with tillage depth, and N 2 O emissions were predominantly influenced by the level of applied N-fertilizers. Both cabbage yields and GHGs fluxes were highest when the T3F3 farming practice was applied. Under current conventional farming practices (T1F3), cabbage yield was projected at 64.5 t ha −1 in the 2020s, which was close in magnitude to the predicted cabbage demand. In the 2090s, the predicted cabbage supply by the same practice far exceeded the projected demand at 28.9 t ha −1 . Cabbage supply and demand were balanced and GHGs emissions reduced by 19.6% in the 2090s when 94% of the total cabbage farms adopted low carbon-farming practices (e.g., reducing fertilizer level). Our results demonstrate the large potential for Korean cabbage farms to significantly contribute towards the mitigation of GHGs emissions through the adoption of low-carbon farming practices. However, in order to incentivize the shift towards sustainable farming, we advise that lower yield and potential economic losses in farmlands from adopting low-carbon practices should be appropriately compensated by institutional policy.

Keywords: climate change; greenhouse gas; cabbage farming; DNDC model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6158/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6158/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6158-:d:283522

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().