Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Maize No-Till Agroecosystems in Southern Brazil Based on a Long-Term Experiment

Guilherme Rosa da Silva, Adam J. Liska () and Cimelio Bayer
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Guilherme Rosa da Silva: Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 7712 Bento Gonçalves Ave., Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil
Adam J. Liska: Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
Cimelio Bayer: Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 7712 Bento Gonçalves Ave., Porto Alegre 91540-000, RS, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Brazilian agriculture is constantly questioned concerning its environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research study used data from a 34-year field experiment to estimate the life cycle GHG emissions intensity of maize production for grain in farming systems under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) combined with Gramineae (oat) and legume (vetch) cover crops in southern Brazil. We applied the Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator for modeling the “field-to-farm gate” emissions with measured annual soil N 2 O and CH 4 emissions data. For net CO 2 emissions, increases in soil organic C (SOC) were applied as a proxy, where the CT combined with oat was a reference. The life cycle GHG emissions intensity for maize was negative under NT farming systems with Gramineae and legume cover crops, −0.7 and −0.1 kg CO 2 e kg −1 of maize, respectively. CT with oats as a cover crop had a GHG intensity of 1.0 kg CO 2 e kg −1 of maize and 2.2 Mg CO 2 e ha −1 . NT with cover crops increased SOC (0.7 C Mg ha −1 yr −1 , 0–100 cm) and contributed to the mitigation of life cycle GHG emissions of maize production. This research shows that NT with cover crops is a sustainable solution for farming in southern Brazil.

Keywords: cover crops; greenhouse gas emissions; maize; no-till; soil organic carbon; sub-tropical Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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