Evaluation of energy indices and greenhouse gas emissions in major horticultural crops and paddy crops in Tajan plain

Abstract

One of the basic objectives of sustainable agriculture is the efficient use of available inputs and resources. Hence, energy use was evaluated in the present study for the cultivation and the greenhouse gas emissions in the main horticultural crops and paddy in Tajan. The required data were collected through relying on subjective and objective methods such as questionnaries and field data recorded in Tajan plain in the period of 2020–2022. The maximum input energy was reported 64,867.5 MJ/ha for the cultivation of rice, and the minimum amount of input energy belonging to pear cultivation was 30,982.95 MJ/ha. Similarly, the highest amount of output energy was recorded 86,401 MJ/ha for the cultivation of rice crops, and the lowest amount of output energy was 30,400 MJ/ha in the cultivation of pomegranate. The results taken from the GHG index and the global warming potential indicated that the products including paddy (2726.19 kg CO2/ha), apple (2681.6 kg CO2/ha) and citrus (2545.3 kg CO2/ha) had the highest impact on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Subsequently, according to the data regarding the cultivation percentage of each crop, it was found out that paddy crop had the largest share of potential impact on global warming (72,789,535.76 kg CO2) in Tajan plain. Therefore, the production of products with incredibly high water consumption as well as great use of chemical fertilizers and old high-working hour machines have greater share in energy consumption and global heating potential in comparison to the other indices.