Abstract
The objectives of the study were (1) to evaluate the possibility for the French winter oilseed rape to achieve the 50% greenhouse gas (GHG) saving criteria of the European Directive on the promotion of renewable energy (2009/28/EC), and (2) to investigate mitigation options. The agricultural GHG emissions were calculated with the actual seed yields and cultural operations of more than 5000 winter oilseed rape fields producing seeds collected by 27 grain storage companies (GSC), while the same values of GHG emissions for transport and biodiesel processing were used for all GSC. The study clearly showed that the 50% GHG saving criteria could not be achieved each year, by each of the grain storage company, without improvements of crop management. The possibility to reduce the GHG emissions by improving the efficiency of mineral N fertilization was demonstrated. Improving seed yields without increasing the amount of N application on the fields would also decrease GHG emissions. On the contrary, the application of organic matter appeared to be largely ineffective because of the way N2O emissions were calculated in the study (tier 1 method of International Panel on Climate Change).
Highlights
The European Union decided to promote biofuels in order to decrease the emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and the importation of non-renewable energy (Directive 2003/30/EC)
In order to evaluate the possibility for each grain storage company to achieve the 50% GHG saving criteria, the agricultural GHG emissions were calculated with the actual seed yields and cultural operations to produce the rape seeds collected by each GSC, while the same values of GHG emissions for transport and biodiesel processing were used for all GSC
The year effect on GHG emissions could not be directly studied from the survey which was only conducted in one year
Summary
The European Union decided to promote biofuels in order to decrease the emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and the importation of non-renewable energy (Directive 2003/30/EC). According to the Life Cycle Assessment of the first generation biofuels produced in France (BIO IS, 2010), the GHG saving of rapeseed biodiesel is 59%, the cultivation of oilseed rape accounts for more than 75% of the total emissions, and the main GHG is the N2O emitted by soils. The GHG emissions could be calculated each year for each grain storage company (GSC). ‘‘low GHG’’ crop managements would probably be necessary in order to achieve the 50% saving criteria each year in each GSC, especially if an iLUC emission value was taken into account. The first objective of the study was to evaluate the possibility for each grain storage company to achieve the 50% GHG saving criteria in each year. The second objective was to investigate mitigation options: (1) improving the efficiency of mineral N fertilization or (2) applying organic matter (OM)
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