IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i2p481-d1313771.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Silage Maize in Relation to Regenerative Agriculture

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Dědina

    (Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, p.r.i., Drnovská 507, 161 01 Prague, Czech Republic)

  • Petr Jevič

    (Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, p.r.i., Drnovská 507, 161 01 Prague, Czech Republic)

  • Pavel Čermák

    (Institute of Animal Science, p.r.i., Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague, Czech Republic)

  • Jan Moudrý

    (Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic)

  • Chisenga Emmanuel Mukosha

    (Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic)

  • Tomáš Lošák

    (Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská 1645/31A, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
    Department of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Tadeáš Hrušovský

    (Department of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Elizaveta Watzlová

    (Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic)

Abstract

The demand for agricultural products is growing and is resulting in significant environmental impacts due to the overuse of fertilizers (and pesticides in some cases). There is a continued need to find sustainable methods in agricultural systems without harming the environment. Regenerative agriculture can be considered as one of the best methods of sustainable agriculture. The aim of this comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) study was to quantify the environmental impacts associated with the production of silage maize at different doses of fertilizers and pesticides under conventional agriculture and without the use of fertilizers and pesticides under regenerative agriculture. The input data were obtained from the experimental fields and supplemented by background process databases of Ecoinvent, World Food Live Cycle Assessment Database (WFLCD), and the French database AGRIBALYSE. The results of the study were related to six midpoint impact categories: global warming, marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Although the variant of growing silage maize without the use of fertilizers and pesticides according to the principle of regenerative agriculture showed the lowest burden on the environment, the yields of the cultivated silage maize were 43–55% lower than those of the fertilized variants.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Dědina & Petr Jevič & Pavel Čermák & Jan Moudrý & Chisenga Emmanuel Mukosha & Tomáš Lošák & Tadeáš Hrušovský & Elizaveta Watzlová, 2024. "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Silage Maize in Relation to Regenerative Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:481-:d:1313771
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/481/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/481/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tom O’Donoghue & Budiman Minasny & Alex McBratney, 2022. "Regenerative Agriculture and Its Potential to Improve Farmscape Function," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    2. Benjamin Leon Bodirsky & Susanne Rolinski & Anne Biewald & Isabelle Weindl & Alexander Popp & Hermann Lotze-Campen, 2015. "Global Food Demand Scenarios for the 21st Century," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aryal, Jeetendra P., 2022. "Contribution of Agriculture to Climate Change and Low-Emission Agricultural Development in Asia and the Pacific," ADBI Working Papers 1340, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    2. Io Carydi & Athanasios Koutsianas & Marios Desyllas, 2023. "People, Crops, and Bee Farming: Landscape Models for a Symbiotic Network in Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Wang, X. & Dietrich, J.P. & Lotze-Campen, H. & Biewald, A. & Munson, T.S. & Muller, C., 2018. "Trading More Food in the Context of High-end Climate Change: Implications for Land Displacement through Agricultural Trade," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276997, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Elke Stehfest & Willem-Jan Zeist & Hugo Valin & Petr Havlik & Alexander Popp & Page Kyle & Andrzej Tabeau & Daniel Mason-D’Croz & Tomoko Hasegawa & Benjamin L. Bodirsky & Katherine Calvin & Jonathan C, 2019. "Key determinants of global land-use projections," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Kelly R. Wilson & Robert L. Myers & Mary K. Hendrickson & Emily A. Heaton, 2022. "Different Stakeholders’ Conceptualizations and Perspectives of Regenerative Agriculture Reveals More Consensus Than Discord," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Chantal Le Mouël & Anna Birgit Milford & Benjamin L. Bodirsky & Susanne Rolinski, 2019. "Drivers of meat consumption," Post-Print hal-02175593, HAL.
    7. Małgorzata Holka & Jolanta Kowalska & Magdalena Jakubowska, 2022. "Reducing Carbon Footprint of Agriculture—Can Organic Farming Help to Mitigate Climate Change?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Shengqiang Yang & Donglin Li & Heping Liao & Lin Zhu & Miaomiao Zhou & Zhicong Cai, 2023. "Analysis of the Balance between Supply and Demand of Arable Land in China Based on Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Dorin, Bruno & Joly, Pierre-Benoît, 2020. "Modelling world agriculture as a learning machine? From mainstream models to Agribiom 1.0," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Patrice Guillotreau & Frédéric Lantz & Lesya Nadzon & Jonathan Rault & Olivier Maury, 2023. "Price Transmission between Energy and Fish Markets: Are Oil Rates Good Predictors of Tuna Prices?," Marine Resource Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 29-46.
    11. Sana Khushi & Sajid Rashid Ahmad & Ather Ashraf & Muhammad Imran, 2020. "Spatially analyzing food consumption inequalities using GIS with disaggregated data from Punjab, Pakistan," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1283-1298, December.
    12. Mason-D'Croz, Daniel & Sulser, Timothy B. & Wiebe, Keith & Rosegrant, Mark W. & Lowder, Sarah K. & Nin-Pratt, Alejandro & Willenbockel, Dirk & Robinson, Sherman & Zhu, Tingju & Cenacchi, Nicola & Duns, 2019. "Agricultural investments and hunger in Africa modeling potential contributions to SDG2 – Zero Hunger," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 38-53.
    13. Sands, Ronald D. & Meade, Birgit & Seale, James L., Jr. & Robinson, Sherman & Seeger, Riley, 2023. "Scenarios of Global Food Consumption: Implications for Agriculture," Economic Research Report 338943, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Lyrio de Oliveira, Lucas & García Kerdan, Iván & de Oliveira Ribeiro, Celma & Oller do Nascimento, Claudio Augusto & Rego, Erik Eduardo & Giarola, Sara & Hawkes, Adam, 2020. "Modelling the technical potential of bioelectricity production under land use constraints: A multi-region Brazil case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    15. Yuhan Wang & Chenyujing Yang & Yuanyuan Zhang & Yongji Xue, 2023. "Mountainous Areas: Alleviating the Shortage of Cultivated Land Caused by Changing Dietary Structure in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, July.
    16. Martin C. Parlasca & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Meat Consumption and Sustainability," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 17-41, October.
    17. Pedro Gerber Machado & Julia Tomei & Adam Hawkes & Celma de Oliveira Ribeiro, 2020. "A Simulator to Determine the Evolution of Disparities in Food Consumption between Socio-Economic Groups: A Brazilian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-24, July.
    18. Agnieszka Baer-Nawrocka & Arkadiusz Sadowski, 2019. "Food security and food self-sufficiency around the world: A typology of countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-15, March.
    19. John T. Saunders & Marcel Adenäuer & Jonathan Brooks, 2019. "Analysis of long-term challenges for agricultural markets," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 131, OECD Publishing.
    20. Katarzyna Monika Lukiewska & Malgorzata Grazyna Juchniewicz, 2019. "Factors of International Competitiveness of EU Member States? Food Industries," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 21(3), pages 659-676.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:481-:d:1313771. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.