A Study on the Carbon Neutral Effect and Improvement of River Water Quality through Non-point Source Pollution Control in Farmland

Abstract

In Korea, the carbon emission from the agricultural, livestock, and fishery sectors were 24.7 million tCO<sub>2</sub>-eq in 2018. Following the 2050 carbon neutral declaration, the total carbon emissions from these sectors are expected to decrease to 15.4 million tCO<sub>2</sub>-eq by 2050, a reduction of 37.7%. Therefore, efforts are being made to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, soil nitrogen emissions, and greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector. In this study, we analyzed the effects of irradiation charges on greenhouse gas reduction and water quality improvement after rice cultivation without the addition of any fertilizer. The greenhouse gas emission for fertilizer during irradiation cultivation was estimated to be 237 kgCO<sub>2</sub>-eq/1,000m<sup>2</sup>, 4 kgCO<sub>2</sub>-eq/1,000m<sup>2</sup> less than that by using a crop protection agent (241 kgCO<sub>2</sub>-eq/1,000m<sup>2</sup>). The measurement was based on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (62.90, 22.83, and 19.31 kg, respectively) per 1,000 m<sup>2</sup> barley cultivation. In addition, a reduction in fertilizer use was estimated to reduce eutrophication by approximately 25.47 kgPO<sub>4</sub><sup>3-</sup>-eq. Thus, the eutrophication of rivers from farmland, a nonpoint pollution source, is predicted to reduce by expanding irradiation cultivation.