Improving energy and GHG performance of the rice-wheat rotation system: A life-cycle analysis based on a large-scale behavior investigation

Abstract

Agricultural production is one of the crucial contributors to energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Understanding the various planting behaviors of farmers, instead of taking them as one, can be very helpful for improving crop management efficiency. This information can be used to relieve the pressures of direct and indirect energy use and GHG emissions. In this study, we took Jiangsu Province as an example to estimate the energy and GHG performance of the rice-wheat rotation system from a life-cycle perspective based on a large-scale behavior investigation of 409 samples in 2016. We further studied the influences of regional farmers’ planting characteristics on energy and GHG performance by regression models. The results indicated that farmers’ agricultural inputs varied widely among individuals and regions. Indirect energy consumption and GHG emissions, which are mainly caused by the use of fertilizers and pesticides and vary among farmers, contribute most to the life-cycle energy use and GHG emissions of the crop system in Jiangsu. The life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of rice systems in Jiangsu can be effectively reduced by increasing the planting scales. Statistically, by controlling household characteristics such as the number of farmers involved in agricultural activities, age and education level of the household head, a 1-ha increase in the planting scale would lead to approximately 14.07 J/kcal and 1.676 kg CO2-e/kcal decreases in life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions, respectively, in Jiangsu. Policy implications are proposed to reduce and rationally use fertilizer as well as to enlarge the planting scale for sustainable agricultural development in Jiangsu.